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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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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: rest · pop · jam · kid · date · fork · fall · pitch

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. rest — what's left
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kid — child
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. rest — a break
  12. pop — to visit
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fall — to drop
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fork — in a road
  19. rest — what's left
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitch — completely
  22. fall — the season
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — music

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