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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: stick · hand · march · vault · ball · kid · staff · pitch

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hand — help
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — music
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — employees
  10. march — the month
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. pitch — completely
  14. hand — in cards
  15. kid — child
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. staff — a stick
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. march — the month
  21. ball — a dance
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. ball — a great time

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