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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: game · pitch · racket · spring · bowl · shower · straw · ball

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — to wash
  3. ball — a dance
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. game — wild animals
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. shower — rain
  13. game — a match
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. spring — of water
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. spring — a coil
  24. ball — a round shape

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