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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 116 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: board · cold · lash · file · mark · pitch · calf · bat

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. board — to get on
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mark — a grade
  12. board — a committee
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mark — a trace
  15. file — a tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. file — a document
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. file — a line of people
  24. lash — to lash out

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