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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: fall · race · pitch · lie · scale · bank · shower · file

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. race — a contest
  3. scale — in music
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitch — completely
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. scale — size or range
  9. file — a tool
  10. race — humankind
  11. bank — for money
  12. file — a document
  13. bank — of a river
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fall — the season
  16. bank — for money
  17. lie — to recline
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. file — a line of people
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. fall — to drop
  24. race — the arms race

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