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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. can — to be able to
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pitch — completely
  9. can — a tin
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fall — the season
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fall — to drop
  16. can — a tin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pitch — a sports field

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