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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: deal · snap · roll · straw · pitch · scale · spring · root

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — in music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. spring — the season
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. roll — a cake
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. deal — to handle
  11. root — the cause
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. spring — of water
  14. root — of a word
  15. snap — to click
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. root — of a plant
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. roll — a list
  21. pitch — completely
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — a coil
  24. straw — dry grass

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