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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 120 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: staff · cold · content · bear · game · pitch · cabinet · hide

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bear — the animal
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. game — a match
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. content — happy
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. staff — employees
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. content — the amount
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pitch — completely
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. cold — an illness

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