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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: row · pitch · date · leaves · deal · fall · lash · cold

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. fall — to drop
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cold — an illness
  10. date — the fruit
  11. fall — to drop
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — to handle
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. row — a line
  20. fall — the season
  21. cold — not warm
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. row — a quarrel

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