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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: object · band · stand · kid · squash · pitch · bay · ball

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. object — to protest
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. stand — to bear
  7. object — an aim
  8. ball — a dance
  9. band — a ring
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ball — a great time
  12. kid — child
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. object — a thing
  15. pitch — completely
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. band — a music group
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. stand — on your feet

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