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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: staff · pop · last · kick · rest · pitch · cold · lean

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cold — an illness
  3. last — finally
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. staff — a stick
  6. lean — thin
  7. last — to go on
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pop — to visit
  11. last — final
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kick — in football
  14. rest — what's left
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. staff — employees
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. lean — to bend

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