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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 120 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: fall · bulb · drill · stick · rash · pitch · coach · clip

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — completely
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fall — the season
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. clip — for paper
  24. drill — army training

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