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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: pitch · club · wind · sharp · fall · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. club — a group
  3. sharp — clever
  4. club — for golf
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — a phone
  11. wind — moving air
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fall — the season
  17. club — for dancing
  18. sharp — with an edge

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