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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: tube · drill · spell · pitch · trunk · cold · bay · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. drill — army training
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — letters
  9. pitch — completely
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fall — to drop
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tube — a container
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. tube — in a tire

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