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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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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. net — after costs
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bark — to shout
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. degree — an amount
  8. shower — to wash
  9. degree — from a university
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. shower — rain

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