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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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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: bay · staff · bowl · mate · arm · racket · pitch · cold

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. mate — to breed
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. cold — not warm
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. mate — a friend
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. pitch — completely
  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