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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: rest · content · cold · dip · cell · bore · pitcher · pass

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. rest — what's left
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. rest — a break
  8. pass — a permit
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cell — in biology
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. content — happy
  13. rest — what's left
  14. content — the amount
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cold — not warm
  20. dip — to sink
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bore — to drill
  24. content — videos and posts

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