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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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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 · ball · land · sharp · cell · band · cap · file

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. file — a line of people
  3. cap — a lid
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cell — a phone
  7. band — a ring
  8. pitch — completely
  9. file — a tool
  10. land — a country
  11. ball — a dance
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. file — a document
  14. land — ground
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. cell — in biology
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. land — to come down
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cap — of ice
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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