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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rash — hasty
  3. ball — a great time
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. club — for dancing
  6. scale — in music
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. ball — a dance
  9. field — a subject
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — completely
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. club — a group
  17. field — for sport
  18. kick — in football
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. field — farmland
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. club — for golf

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