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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: pitcher · cold · firm · kick · scale · race · stick · board

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. firm — a company
  5. board — to get on
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. race — a contest
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. race — humankind
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. scale — in music
  16. firm — decided
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. firm — steady
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. race — the arms race
  24. kick — in football

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