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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. spring — of water
  4. march — music
  5. shower — to wash
  6. march — the month
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. march — the month
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. spring — a coil
  13. row — a line
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitch — completely
  18. shower — rain
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. row — to paddle
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kick — in football
  24. row — a quarrel

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