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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: ball · fork · pitch · root · chest · tear · last · swing

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. ball — a great time
  3. pitch — completely
  4. last — to go on
  5. ball — a dance
  6. last — finally
  7. chest — of your body
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. swing — music
  11. root — the cause
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. chest — of your body
  14. swing — to play on
  15. chest — a box
  16. fork — in a road
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. root — of a word
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. last — final

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