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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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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 · mate · lean · track · cold · stick · shower · trunk

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. track — a song
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. shower — to wash
  5. lean — thin
  6. track — to keep track
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. shower — rain
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mate — a partner
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. track — a path
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — to rest against

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