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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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Word bank
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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: row · current · hand · trunk · wave · pitch · chest · spring

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. chest — of your body
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. row — to paddle
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. current — of water
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. current — happening now
  11. spring — the season
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pitch — completely
  14. chest — a box
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. spring — of water
  17. hand — help
  18. spring — a coil
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. hand — in cards
  23. row — a line
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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