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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: bat · spring · lie · pitch · cold · fall · bulb · arm

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cold — an illness
  3. spring — of water
  4. bulb — for light
  5. fall — the season
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pitch — completely
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bulb — for light
  23. fall — to drop
  24. arm — part of the body

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