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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. file — a tool
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. pitch — completely
  6. drill — army training
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mate — a partner
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. drill — the tool
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. hand — in cards
  17. root — the cause
  18. hand — help
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rock — music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rock — a stone
  24. file — a document

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