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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: pitch · wake · trunk · fall · tube · kid · mate · chest

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. fall — the season
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. tube — a container
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. chest — of your body
  20. tube — the underground
  21. chest — a box
  22. kid — child
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wake — before a funeral

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