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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pitch — completely
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. root — the cause
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — to wash
  12. root — of a plant
  13. shower — rain
  14. spring — of water
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. root — of a word
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. kid — to tease
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. spring — the season
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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