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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. key — for a lock
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bark — to shout
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — a match
  12. key — the most important part
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. spring — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. key — in music
  19. wake — a trail
  20. spring — of water
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bowl — a dish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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