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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: shower · face · lean · bowl · pitch · perch · fall · root

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. lean — thin
  21. face — to point toward
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. perch — for a bird

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