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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — of the year
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. season — in sport
  8. bear — the animal
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bear — the animal
  12. branch — a division
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. band — a ring

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