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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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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: snap · pitch · row · fall · file · mine · season · rule

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. fall — the season
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rule — a law
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. row — to paddle
  11. file — a tool
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pitch — completely
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. rule — government
  17. file — a line of people
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. file — a document
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. snap — to click
  24. pitch — a sports field

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