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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: cold · present · roll · game · pitch · cap · calf · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. present — the time now
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wound — an injury
  7. roll — a list
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cap — of ice
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. game — wild animals
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. present — a gift
  16. roll — a cake
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cap — a lid
  21. game — a match
  22. present — there
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. game — a kind of play

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