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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. rush — hurry
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a tool
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. prune — to trim
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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