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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. land — ground
  3. root — of a word
  4. wound — an injury
  5. drill — army training
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. net — after costs
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. drill — the tool
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wound — an injury
  15. land — a country
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. net — in sport
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. drill — a practice
  20. land — to come down
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pitch — completely
  24. root — the cause

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