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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: last · pop · saw · game · fall · pitch · wound · shower

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. last — finally
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. last — to go on
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pop — soda
  6. saw — the tool
  7. game — wild animals
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. fall — the season
  11. game — a match
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pop — music
  16. last — final
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fall — to drop
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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