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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: pitch · coach · stand · rock · date · kick · last · cold

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — completely
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. rock — music
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rock — a stone
  17. stand — to bear
  18. last — to go on
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kick — in football
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. rock — to move gently

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