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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: ball · staff · pitch · hide · shower · game · wake · lie

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. staff — a stick
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. game — wild animals
  5. ball — a dance
  6. staff — employees
  7. shower — rain
  8. lie — to recline
  9. staff — employees
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. game — a match
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. ball — a great time
  22. pitch — completely
  23. wake — a trail
  24. lie — an untruth

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