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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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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: root · present · sharp · pitch · cold · tear · rash · coach

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. root — of a plant
  4. root — of a word
  5. present — a gift
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — a series
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. root — the cause
  13. rash — hasty
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. present — there
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. tear — to rip
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. present — the time now
  24. cold — not warm

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