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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · bass · pitch · shower · kick · field · ground · root

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bass — low music
  3. kick — in football
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. root — the cause
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bass — the fish
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. ground — crushed
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. rash — a series
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ground — the earth
  22. field — farmland
  23. ground — a position
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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