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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pitch — completely
  5. firm — steady
  6. firm — decided
  7. rest — what's left
  8. present — a gift
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rest — a break
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. fall — the season
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. firm — a company
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. present — there
  23. capital — money
  24. present — the time now

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