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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mug — to rob
  3. pitch — completely
  4. mate — a partner
  5. fall — to drop
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. sharp — clever
  13. tear — from crying
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mug — a face
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mug — a cup
  19. fall — the season
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kid — child
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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