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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: rock · band · can · craft · staff · cold · cell · pitch

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. can — to be able to
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cell — a phone
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. craft — boats
  9. pitch — completely
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. can — a tin
  15. band — a ring
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. craft — a skill
  22. band — a music group
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. can — a tin

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