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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitch · perch · root · bat · fan · shower · plane · game

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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. plane — a tool
  2. game — wild animals
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. shower — rain
  11. perch — the fish
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. game — a match
  18. shower — to wash
  19. root — of a word
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. root — the cause
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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