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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 116 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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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: rush · fan · root · spring · snap · pitch · pound · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. root — the cause
  9. snap — to click
  10. spring — a coil
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mate — to breed
  13. spring — the season
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pitch — completely
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spring — of water
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. rush — hurry
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. 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