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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: stick · bat · band · pitcher · kick · spring · fall · coach

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fall — the season
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. band — a ring
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fall — to drop
  16. spring — the season
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. spring — of water
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. spring — a coil
  24. band — a music group

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