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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. staff — a stick
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. net — after costs
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. staff — employees
  9. band — a ring
  10. net — in sport
  11. kid — child
  12. root — the cause
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. staff — employees
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. present — there
  19. root — of a plant
  20. net — for catching
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitch — completely
  23. root — of a word
  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