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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: file · ball · stand · pound · march · pitch · kid · chest

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. stand — to bear
  3. kid — child
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. march — music
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. ball — a dance
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. file — a line of people
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a great time
  18. kid — to tease
  19. file — a tool
  20. pound — a weight
  21. file — a document
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitch — completely

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