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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: pound · staff · pitch · craft · pass · cold · board · court

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. cold — not warm
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cold — an illness
  6. staff — employees
  7. pound — a weight
  8. staff — employees
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. board — to get on
  14. craft — a skill
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. court — of a king
  17. board — a committee
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. staff — a stick

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