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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 120 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: pitch · bat · land · spell · coach · band · bowl · race

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. band — a ring
  3. race — humankind
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. land — to come down
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. spell — magic
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pitch — completely
  20. land — ground
  21. band — a music group
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spell — letters
  24. land — a country

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