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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
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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 · sharp · scale · hand · land · root · kick · ball

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — the cause
  5. scale — in music
  6. land — ground
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. land — to come down
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. scale — size or range
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitch — completely
  16. ball — a great time
  17. land — a country
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. root — of a plant
  23. sharp — clever
  24. hand — help

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