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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. cap — a lid
  6. kid — to tease
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. charge — a price
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cap — a hat
  16. charge — in control
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. kid — child
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bound — certain

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