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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: pitch · trunk · fall · cue · land · pitcher · foot · bowl

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. land — a country
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fall — to drop
  8. land — to come down
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. cue — for pool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fall — to drop
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. fall — the season
  18. cue — a signal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a football final

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