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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. lean — to bend
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. spell — letters
  9. wound — an injury
  10. file — a document
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spell — magic
  17. lean — thin
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spell — a short time

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