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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: row · pitch · tear · ground · cell · staff

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. ground — crushed
  3. row — to paddle
  4. cell — a phone
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — the earth
  7. staff — employees
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. ground — a position
  12. pitch — completely
  13. staff — a stick
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — from crying
  17. row — a line
  18. pitch — a sports field

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