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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 120 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 · stick · kick · fall · band · ball · pitcher · pit

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — a hole
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. band — a music group
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. ball — a great time
  14. band — a ring
  15. fall — the season
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. pit — in a race
  20. kick — in football
  21. fall — to drop
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. ball — a dance

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