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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: bulb · bowl · cell · content · pit · pitch · ground · shower

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bulb — for light
  12. content — happy
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. shower — rain
  17. content — the amount
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. ground — a position
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pitch — completely

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