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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pitch — completely
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. rule — government
  9. present — the time now
  10. stock — shares
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. net — in sport
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rule — a law
  21. present — there
  22. stock — goods
  23. wake — a trail
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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