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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: trunk · fine · rock · file · bat · bowl · firm · pitch

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. rock — music
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. file — a tool
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. firm — a company
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pitch — completely
  14. fine — all right
  15. file — a document
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. firm — steady
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rock — a stone
  22. firm — decided
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. trunk — of a tree

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