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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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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: bat · pit · leaves · root · lash · wind · bark · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. pit — in a race
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pitch — completely
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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