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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 · lean · content · mouse · shower · hand · kick · wake

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. content — happy
  3. pitch — completely
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. lean — thin
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. lean — to bend
  10. kick — in football
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. shower — rain
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. content — the amount
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. hand — in cards
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. lean — to rest against

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