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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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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: ground · pitch · stick · fall · tube · cold · scale · temple

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. tube — a container
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fall — the season
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — a position
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cold — an illness
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. scale — in music
  23. cold — not warm
  24. scale — size or range

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