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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 120 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: stock · calf · band · cold · pitcher · staff · pitch · shower

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. band — a ring
  13. stock — shares
  14. shower — to wash
  15. band — a music group
  16. stock — goods
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. shower — rain

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