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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. squash — to crush
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitch — completely
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. kid — to tease
  9. chest — of your body
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. kid — child
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. present — a gift
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. present — the time now
  19. chest — a box
  20. prune — to trim
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. present — there
  24. squash — the sport

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