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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 116 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: leaves · straw · clip · bat · fall · pitch · pass · bowl

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fall — the season
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. clip — for paper
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — the animal
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. clip — a video
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pass — a permit
  24. bowl — a football final

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