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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 116 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  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. pitch — a sports field
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pitch — completely
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cell — in biology
  10. net — for catching
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spell — a short time
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. spell — letters
  18. net — in sport
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. spell — magic
  21. cell — a phone
  22. net — after costs
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  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