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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 120 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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. row — a line
  3. shower — rain
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. foot — a measure
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of law
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wax — to grow
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. shower — to wash
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. row — to paddle

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