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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: shower · stick · land · ball · pitch · season · mouse · chest

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. land — a country
  7. ball — a dance
  8. land — to come down
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. shower — to wash
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. shower — rain
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. chest — a box
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — in sport
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. chest — of your body
  22. land — ground
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chest — of your body

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