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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: cap · fall · pitch · mate · trunk · wind · temple · club

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. club — for golf
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. pitch — completely
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. mate — a friend
  19. fall — to drop
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. club — a group
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — of ice

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