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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: pit · stand · bat · cold · coach · current · calf · kid

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. current — happening now
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. kid — child
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. current — electric
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. current — of water
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pit — a hole

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