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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pop — soda
  3. clip — a video
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. race — humankind
  8. bear — the animal
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stock — shares
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. pop — music
  13. stock — goods
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. race — a contest
  20. pop — to visit
  21. clip — to cut
  22. race — the arms race
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. trunk — of a tree

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