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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 120 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: bat · present · pit · track · mine · last · pitch · root

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. track — to keep track
  4. present — a gift
  5. root — of a plant
  6. present — the time now
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. pit — in a race
  11. track — a path
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a word
  14. bat — the animal
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. last — finally
  18. track — a song
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. last — final
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. present — there
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pitch — completely

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