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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ball — a dance
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pitch — completely
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. ball — a great time
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. net — for catching
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. net — in sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. net — after costs
  19. wind — moving air
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. kid — to tease
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wind — to turn a key

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