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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. current — happening now
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. rock — music
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. current — of water
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. current — electric
  11. file — a document
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. object — an aim
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rock — a stone
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitch — completely
  18. chest — of your body
  19. file — a tool
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. chest — of your body
  24. file — a line of people

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