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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: root · spring · hand · pitch · bat · pit

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. root — of a word
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. hand — in cards
  7. root — the cause
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pitch — completely
  10. spring — the season
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. spring — a coil
  14. hand — help
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bat — in an idiom

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