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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: club · march · toast · pitch · file · fall

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. toast — bread
  5. club — a group
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pitch — completely
  11. file — a tool
  12. march — the month
  13. fall — to drop
  14. club — for dancing
  15. fall — the season
  16. club — for golf
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. march — music

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