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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pitch — completely
  3. spell — a short time
  4. object — to protest
  5. deal — to handle
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spell — letters
  8. net — for catching
  9. spell — magic
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. net — in sport
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. object — an aim
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. saw — the tool
  23. object — a thing
  24. net — after costs

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