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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: cold · ball · present · arm · pound · drill · snap · pitch

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. drill — a practice
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. snap — to click
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. drill — army training
  8. present — a gift
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. ball — a dance
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. cold — not warm
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cold — an illness
  15. present — there
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pitch — completely
  22. drill — the tool
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. pitch — a sports field

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