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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rush — hurry
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pit — in a race
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pit — a hole
  23. row — a line
  24. rush — a thrill

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