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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: bowl · band · pitch · fall · date · stem

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pitch — completely
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. fall — to drop
  11. date — the fruit
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. band — a music group
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. pitch — a sports field

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