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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. row — a line
  3. root — of a word
  4. kid — child
  5. root — of a plant
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. net — after costs
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. kid — to tease
  12. row — to paddle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. perch — the fish
  16. deal — to handle
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. root — the cause
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitch — completely
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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