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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 120 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: fall · drill · press · pitch · mate · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. press — to push
  5. drill — army training
  6. fall — to drop
  7. press — newspapers
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. mate — to breed
  11. fall — the season
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. fall — to drop
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mate — a partner
  17. press — a publisher
  18. mate — a friend

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