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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: nail · kid · cold · pitcher · sharp · pitch · coach · rest

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. rest — what's left
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rest — a break
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cold — an illness
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cold — not warm
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pitcher — a jug

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