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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.

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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: cold · pitch · fine · key · shower · root · chest · can

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. shower — rain
  5. chest — of your body
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — a tin
  10. fine — high quality
  11. chest — a box
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. chest — of your body
  14. can — to be able to
  15. root — the cause
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fine — all right
  18. key — for a lock
  19. key — the most important part
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. key — in music
  23. root — of a plant
  24. pitch — completely

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