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

Word bank: staff · wind · pitch · fall · track · tear

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. staff — employees
  7. pitch — completely
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. staff — employees
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fall — to drop
  14. track — to keep track
  15. fall — the season
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wind — moving air

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