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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: last · pound · pitch · plane · roll · coach · rush · cold

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rush — hurry
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pound — a weight
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. last — to go on
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. plane — a tool
  13. last — final
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. last — finally
  20. cold — an illness
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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