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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · present · pit · ground · swing · trunk

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. swing — music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. present — there
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. ground — the earth
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pit — a hole
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. pit — in a race

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