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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fork — in a road
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. net — for catching
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. pitch — completely
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bear — the animal
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. net — in sport
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. net — after costs
  24. wind — moving air

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