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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: pitcher · fall · pitch · fine · bay · bat · prune · bank

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — the animal
  6. fine — all right
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bank — for money
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bank — of a river
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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