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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: cabinet · pitcher · date · present · bowl · wind · rule · pitch

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. rule — a law
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. present — the time now
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rule — government
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wind — moving air

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