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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 116 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: mine · pitch · spring · mate · bat · fall · nail · ruler

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. spring — a coil
  7. mine — for digging
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fall — the season
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spring — of water
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. spring — the season
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. fall — to drop
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ruler — a monarch

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