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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. kid — child
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mug — a face
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mug — to rob
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mug — a cup
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pass — a permit
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. fork — in a road
  23. land — ground
  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