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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. kick — in football
  6. pop — music
  7. pound — a weight
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pitch — completely
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bat — the animal
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. shower — rain
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pop — soda
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. shower — to wash
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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