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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: chip · fan · key · fall · rock · pitch · trunk · cold

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. rock — music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. key — the most important part
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chip — to eat
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. key — in music
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. chip — for betting
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. key — for a lock
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. rock — a stone
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chip — in a computer

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