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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: pitcher · pit · game · bowl · bark · mine · root · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. root — the cause
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pit — a hole
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. mine — for digging
  16. root — of a word
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. root — of a plant
  20. pit — in a race
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — to shout

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