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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: spring · stand · wind · track · pitch · trunk · cap · pass

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wind — moving air
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. track — a path
  9. cap — a hat
  10. track — a song
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — of water
  20. cap — of ice
  21. spring — the season
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pass — a permit

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