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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 116 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: pitch · mate · lean · track · cold · stick

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. lean — thin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. lean — to bend
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mate — a friend
  15. track — a path
  16. track — a song
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner

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