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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: pitch · tube · bat · kid · file · pop · scale · wind

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. kid — child
  4. file — a line of people
  5. tube — a container
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pop — soda
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a document
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pop — music
  22. wind — moving air
  23. file — a tool
  24. pop — to visit

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