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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. race — humankind
  7. craft — boats
  8. race — a contest
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. spring — a coil
  11. pitch — completely
  12. spring — of water
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. race — the arms race
  15. tube — a container
  16. craft — a skill
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chair — a leader
  19. key — for a lock
  20. spring — the season
  21. key — the most important part
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. key — in music
  24. tube — the underground

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