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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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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. mate — a friend
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. tube — a container
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pitch — completely
  14. rush — hurry
  15. tube — the underground
  16. mate — a partner
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mate — to breed
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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