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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. content — the amount
  3. game — wild animals
  4. swing — in golf
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. swing — to play on
  7. season — of the year
  8. firm — decided
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. game — a match
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. firm — steady
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. content — happy
  16. season — in sport
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitch — completely
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. swing — music
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. firm — a company
  24. pitch — a sports field

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