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

Word bank: pitch · craft · fork · hand · band · trunk · key · cell

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. hand — help
  3. pitch — completely
  4. key — the most important part
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cell — in biology
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fork — in a road
  16. craft — boats
  17. key — for a lock
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cell — a phone
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. key — in music
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — a skill
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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