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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: mine · root · kick · bear · scale · mug · kid · pitch

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. scale — size or range
  5. kick — in football
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. root — of a plant
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. scale — in music
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. mug — a cup
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. root — of a word
  17. mug — a face
  18. root — the cause
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bear — the animal
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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