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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. row — a line
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. key — for a lock
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. perch — the fish
  11. stock — shares
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — a match
  14. pitch — completely
  15. game — wild animals
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. key — the most important part
  20. stock — goods
  21. key — in music
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to click
  24. pitch — a sports field

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