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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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468
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: ground · bat · pitch · wake · fall · chair · press · trunk

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. ground — a position
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fall — the season
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fall — to drop
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pitch — completely
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. fall — to drop
  15. press — to push
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. ground — crushed
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chair — a leader

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