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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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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: wind · squash · pitch · land · bowl · shower · present · rest

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rest — a break
  4. land — to come down
  5. present — the time now
  6. land — ground
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wind — moving air
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. land — a country
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. present — there
  20. present — a gift
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rest — what's left
  23. shower — to wash
  24. squash — the vegetable

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