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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: pitch · mine · suit · mate · race · net · calf · cold

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. net — after costs
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. suit — to fit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. suit — in cards
  10. pitch — completely
  11. suit — clothes
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. race — humankind
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. mine — for digging
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. net — in sport
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. net — for catching
  24. 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