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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 120 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: shower · suit · pitch · present · plane · cap · fall · clip

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. fall — to drop
  3. suit — to fit
  4. plane — a tool
  5. present — a gift
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. clip — a video
  9. cap — a lid
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cap — a hat
  13. clip — to cut
  14. shower — rain
  15. suit — in cards
  16. suit — clothes
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. fall — the season
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. cap — of ice
  22. clip — for paper
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. present — the time now

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