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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. ground — the earth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. ground — a position
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ground — crushed
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wind — moving air
  19. track — a song
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. prune — to trim
  23. track — a path
  24. trunk — of a tree

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