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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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. track — a path
  3. track — a song
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. rash — hasty
  12. craft — a skill
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rash — a series
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. track — to keep track
  24. kid — child

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