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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stand — to bear
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. face — to confront
  10. rock — music
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bat — the animal
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rock — a stone
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cell — a phone

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