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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: fork · pitch · file · bat · band · club · bank · tube

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. fork — in a road
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. club — a group
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. file — a document
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pitch — completely
  17. tube — a container
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. club — for golf
  23. file — a tool
  24. band — a music group

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