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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. band — a ring
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. club — a group
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rush — hurry
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. drill — army training
  19. club — for golf
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. pitch — completely
  22. club — for dancing
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bat — the animal

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