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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: date · root · bat · trunk · net · fan · pitch · shower

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. root — of a plant
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bat — the animal
  9. root — of a word
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — completely
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. date — the fruit
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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