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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. cue — for pool
  5. pit — in a race
  6. rock — music
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pit — a hole
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. field — for sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. race — a contest
  15. rash — a series
  16. cue — a signal
  17. race — humankind
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitch — completely
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rock — a stone
  24. cue — a hint

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