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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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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: present · trunk · cold · wind · pitch · leaves · pitcher · bowl

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. present — the time now
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — moving air
  19. present — a gift
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pitch — completely
  23. present — there
  24. cold — an illness

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