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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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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 · cold · hand · dip · rock · rash · drill · fan

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rash — hasty
  5. hand — help
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rash — a series
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. rock — music
  11. dip — to sink
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. pitch — completely
  19. hand — in cards
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. dip — a sauce

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