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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — hurry
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitch — completely
  17. kid — child
  18. net — after costs
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pound — a weight
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. kid — to tease
  24. calf — a young animal

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