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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: fall · stem · cabinet · bat · season · pitcher · wind · kid

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stem — to come from
  9. fall — the season
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fall — to drop
  18. season — of the year
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — in sport

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