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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. swing — to play on
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. craft — a skill
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wind — moving air
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. saw — the tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. swing — music
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. craft — boats

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