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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: pitch · staff · bowl · dip · cell · shower · hand · pass

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pass — a permit
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cell — in biology
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. staff — employees
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. shower — to wash
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. hand — help
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. hand — in cards
  19. staff — a stick
  20. pitch — completely
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. shower — rain
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. staff — employees

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