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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. ground — crushed
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. root — of a plant
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pop — music
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pop — soda
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tear — from crying
  17. squash — the sport
  18. root — of a word
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. perch — the fish
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pitch — completely
  23. root — the cause
  24. perch — for a bird

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