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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 124 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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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: cold · cap · rest · vault · wind · pitch · dip · ball

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cap — of ice
  11. ball — a dance
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. dip — to sink
  18. rest — a break
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pitch — a sports field

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