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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: fall · fan · pitch · cold · stick · current · bulb · press

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fall — the season
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. press — a publisher
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. current — electric
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. current — of water
  14. bulb — for light
  15. current — happening now
  16. pitch — completely
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. bulb — of a plant

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