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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bear — the animal
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. clip — for paper
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. current — electric
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bear — the animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. current — of water
  14. spring — of water
  15. clip — to cut
  16. current — happening now
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pitch — completely
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. clip — a video

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