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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · present · racket · roll · fan · pitch · cold · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. present — a gift
  3. rock — a stone
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. present — there
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — the month
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. pitch — completely
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rock — music
  19. roll — a list
  20. cold — not warm
  21. present — the time now
  22. roll — a cake
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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