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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: wake · cell · pitch · rest · roll · fall · pit · row

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cell — a phone
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. rest — a break
  9. pit — a hole
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitch — completely
  15. cell — in biology
  16. roll — a list
  17. fall — the season
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. roll — a cake
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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