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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: band · bore · coach · date · land · pitch · fall · fan

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fall — to drop
  5. band — a ring
  6. date — the fruit
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. land — a country
  9. pitch — completely
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. band — a music group
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. date — on the calendar

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