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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · pitch · cap · mug · cold · suit · bear · file

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cap — a hat
  4. suit — clothes
  5. tear — from crying
  6. suit — in cards
  7. file — a document
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. file — a tool
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cap — a lid
  15. file — a line of people
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mug — a face
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. mug — a cup
  21. tear — to rip
  22. suit — to fit
  23. pitch — completely
  24. cap — of ice

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com