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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: pitch · wind · plane · dip · cold · bowl

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. plane — a tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. dip — to sink
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitch — completely
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cold — an illness
  18. plane — an aircraft

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