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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rest — a break
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. root — of a word
  8. pitch — completely
  9. key — for a lock
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rest — what's left
  13. key — the most important part
  14. land — to come down
  15. key — in music
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. root — the cause
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. land — a country
  22. saw — the tool
  23. land — ground
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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