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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: row · swing · root · pitcher · mate · content · bowl · sharp

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. mate — a partner
  4. swing — to play on
  5. content — the amount
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. content — happy
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. sharp — clever
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. swing — in golf
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. swing — music
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. row — a line
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. sharp — with an edge

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