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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: bat · ground · season · staff · mouse · rest · pitch · root

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. root — of a plant
  5. season — in sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ground — crushed
  8. root — of a word
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rest — a break
  11. staff — a stick
  12. season — of the year
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. ground — a position
  15. root — the cause
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bat — the animal
  21. staff — employees
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pitch — completely
  24. ground — the earth

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