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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: rock · fall · game · cell · staff · pitch · lash · cap

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. game — a match
  3. staff — a stick
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. game — wild animals
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. cap — a lid
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pitch — completely
  19. fall — the season
  20. rock — a stone
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cell — a phone
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. 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