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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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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: fall · band · root · bowl · present · pitch · file · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. present — there
  3. file — a document
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. root — the cause
  6. present — a gift
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. file — a tool
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. band — a music group
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. present — the time now
  18. fall — the season
  19. band — a ring
  20. pitch — completely
  21. file — a line of people
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fall — to drop

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