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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.

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: shower · arm · plane · root · hide · row · hand · pitch

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. hand — help
  6. root — the cause
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. root — of a word
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. shower — rain
  15. row — to paddle
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — a tool
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pitch — completely
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. row — a line

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