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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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 sales talk
  2. rest — what's left
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rest — a break
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — to tease
  7. spell — magic
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pop — soda
  10. ball — a dance
  11. spell — a short time
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — to visit
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spell — letters
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. kid — child
  20. shower — to wash
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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