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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: pound · calf · press · scale · wind · pitch

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. scale — size or range
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pound — a weight
  9. press — a publisher
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. scale — in music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. pitch — completely
  18. press — newspapers

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