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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: pitcher · fall · wave · land · root · racket · pitch · ground

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. root — of a word
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. fall — the season
  5. land — to come down
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. land — ground
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitch — completely
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. ground — a position
  21. root — the cause
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. land — a country
  24. root — of a plant

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