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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · hide · stem · chip · scale · pitch · trunk · cold

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. net — in sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. scale — size or range
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. net — after costs
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cold — not warm
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. net — for catching
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. scale — in music
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. pitch — completely
  22. stem — to come from
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pitch — a sports field

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