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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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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wound — an injury
  4. object — to protest
  5. kick — in football
  6. pitch — completely
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. kid — to tease
  15. court — of law
  16. object — an aim
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. object — a thing
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. pound — for dogs

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