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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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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: coach · stand · cold · bat · calf · pitch · staff · fine

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. staff — employees
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bat — the animal
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pitch — completely
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — to bear
  13. staff — employees
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. fine — all right
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. fine — high quality
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — for baseball

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