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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 120 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. track — a path
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. rule — government
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. rule — a law
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. track — a song
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. track — to keep track

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