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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. shower — rain
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. rash — a series
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. capital — a city
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. hand — help
  17. fork — in a road
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. pitch — completely
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. capital — money
  24. rash — hasty

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