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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: shower · game · fall · bank · pitch · board · bat · saw

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. board — a committee
  3. game — a match
  4. bat — the animal
  5. saw — the tool
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. board — to get on
  12. bank — of a river
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bank — for money
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bank — for money
  20. fall — the season
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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