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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: mark · pitch · hand · cap · shower · calf · game · row

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. hand — help
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. shower — rain
  6. mark — a grade
  7. row — a line
  8. hand — in cards
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cap — a hat
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. game — a match
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. shower — to wash
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mark — a trace
  21. pitch — completely
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. hand — part of the body

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