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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. mine — for digging
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. field — a subject
  6. cue — for pool
  7. key — in music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cue — a hint
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wind — moving air
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. key — for a lock
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. field — farmland
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cue — a signal
  24. field — for sport

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