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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: pop · pitcher · last · spring · hand · pitch · nail · file

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. last — to go on
  3. file — a document
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. file — a tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pop — music
  9. last — final
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spring — a coil
  15. hand — help
  16. pitch — completely
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. hand — in cards
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — soda
  22. spring — the season
  23. pop — to visit
  24. last — finally

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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