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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. squash — to crush
  7. squash — the sport
  8. craft — boats
  9. scale — size or range
  10. craft — a skill
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pitch — completely
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fine — all right
  17. scale — in music
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fine — high quality
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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