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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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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: bore · hide · club · trunk · wound · pitch · rash · spell

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. pitch — completely
  3. club — for golf
  4. spell — magic
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. spell — letters
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rash — a series
  13. club — a group
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. rash — hasty
  23. wound — an injury
  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