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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 116 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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. drill — a practice
  4. fine — all right
  5. shower — rain
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. fork — in a road
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. shower — to wash
  12. root — of a word
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. drill — the tool
  15. court — of a king
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. root — of a plant
  18. fine — high quality
  19. court — of law
  20. root — the cause
  21. court — for sport
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. drill — army training

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