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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. staff — a stick
  4. net — for catching
  5. land — a country
  6. current — of water
  7. land — to come down
  8. swing — in golf
  9. land — ground
  10. current — electric
  11. net — in sport
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — the tool
  14. pitch — completely
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. net — after costs
  17. drill — army training
  18. current — happening now
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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