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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: firm · pitch · rule · trunk · spring · tube · bat · kick

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. tube — the underground
  3. firm — decided
  4. spring — a coil
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tube — a container
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. rule — government
  11. pitch — completely
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. spring — the season
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. firm — steady
  17. spring — of water
  18. rule — a law
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. firm — a company
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. kick — in football

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