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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. root — of a word
  4. saw — the tool
  5. root — the cause
  6. pitch — completely
  7. lean — to bend
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. lean — thin
  12. fork — in a road
  13. land — ground
  14. root — of a plant
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. land — a country
  22. bat — the animal
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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