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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. present — there
  6. kid — child
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. plane — a tool
  9. degree — from a university
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pitch — completely
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. degree — temperature
  22. present — a gift
  23. present — the time now
  24. bowl — to roll

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