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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: pitch · trunk · date · clip · bound · fall · stand · shower

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bound — tied together
  4. date — the fruit
  5. fall — to drop
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. shower — rain
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bound — certain
  13. fall — to drop
  14. clip — a video
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fall — the season
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bound — obliged
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. trunk — of a car

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