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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: object · mark · march · bat · stick · jam · cold · calf

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. object — to protest
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cold — not warm
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. march — the month
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cold — an illness
  17. object — an aim
  18. march — music
  19. mark — a trace
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. object — a thing
  24. cold — the Cold War

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