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

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fine — all right
  3. fall — to drop
  4. capital — money
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. fine — high quality
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. bank — for money
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. capital — a city
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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