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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: dip · calf · pitch · pound · bat · stock · cold · race

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — shares
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pitch — completely
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — the animal
  12. dip — to sink
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. pound — a weight
  20. race — a contest
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. race — humankind
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. dip — to dunk

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