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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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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: bear · mate · pitch · kick · row · cell

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. kick — in football
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pitch — completely
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. row — a line
  13. mate — a partner
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bear — the animal

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