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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. track — a path
  4. net — in sport
  5. pitch — completely
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. net — after costs
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cold — not warm
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. fork — in a road
  17. cold — an illness
  18. net — for catching
  19. track — to keep track
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. track — a song
  24. fork — to eat with

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