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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. shower — to wash
  3. row — a line
  4. mate — a friend
  5. land — a country
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. capital — a city
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. mate — to breed
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — rain
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. foot — a measure
  17. row — to paddle
  18. capital — money
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. land — ground
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mate — a partner
  24. land — to come down

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