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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 124 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. net — in sport
  3. row — a line
  4. root — of a word
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. net — after costs
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. march — the month
  17. root — of a plant
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pitch — completely
  21. root — the cause
  22. date — the fruit
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. net — for catching

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