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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: fine · spring · bay · club · land · pitch · kid · fall

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fall — to drop
  5. club — for golf
  6. fall — the season
  7. spring — the season
  8. fine — all right
  9. pitch — completely
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — a coil
  15. club — for dancing
  16. land — to come down
  17. spring — of water
  18. kid — child
  19. fine — high quality
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. club — a group
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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