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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pit — in a race
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bulb — for light
  12. net — for catching
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pit — a hole
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. net — in sport
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — a subject
  24. trunk — of a tree

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