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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · dip · cold · rush · spring · spell · lie · season

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. cold — not warm
  2. pitch — completely
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — of the year
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. rush — hurry
  13. dip — to sink
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. cold — an illness
  18. spell — a short time
  19. lie — to recline
  20. season — in sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  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