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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. cap — of ice
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cap — a lid
  8. present — the time now
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a match
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cap — a hat
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. plane — a tool
  24. saw — the tool

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