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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 116 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: cell · wound · rule · pitch · field · lean · fall · bass

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. lean — thin
  8. rule — government
  9. pitch — completely
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — farmland
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rule — a law
  22. lean — to bend
  23. cell — in biology
  24. field — for sport

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