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

Word bank: club · stick · mate · cold · pitch · kick

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. kick — in football
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitch — completely
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. mate — a friend
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. club — for golf
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. club — a group
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mate — a partner
  18. club — for dancing

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