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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: bat · trunk · kick · cap · pitch · bass

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kick — in football
  11. pitch — completely
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bass — low music
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cap — a lid
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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