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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: pitch · wind · snap · rest · kid · trunk · perch · object

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — the fish
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — to protest
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. rest — what's left
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. kid — to tease
  15. snap — to click
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. object — a thing
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rest — a break
  20. kid — child
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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