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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: sharp · bat · root · pitch · roll · rash · wound · drill

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — of a plant
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. rash — hasty
  9. roll — a list
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bat — the animal
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — a practice
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. root — the cause
  19. drill — army training
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. sharp — clever
  22. rash — a series
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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