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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 · pop · stand · sharp · branch · pitcher · field · cabinet

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fall — to drop
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pop — music
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. field — for sport
  13. branch — a division
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. field — a subject
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stand — to bear
  20. field — farmland
  21. fall — the season
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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