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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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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. spring — of water
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pitch — completely
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lean — thin
  14. shower — rain
  15. band — a music group
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. leaves — lets stay

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