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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. land — a country
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. perch — the fish
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. land — ground
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — to come down
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitch — completely
  24. degree — from a university

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