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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: pop · rash · shower · pitch · hand · rest · game · bear

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rash — a series
  11. pop — music
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rash — hasty
  19. shower — rain
  20. pop — soda
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitch — completely
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rash — on the skin

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