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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 · row · club · tear · bat · fine · pitch · fork

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pitch — completely
  8. fine — all right
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. club — for dancing
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — the season
  13. bat — the animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — a line
  16. club — a group
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fine — high quality
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. club — for golf

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