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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: pitch · straw · trunk · board · rush · roll · toast · wind

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. roll — a cake
  3. board — a committee
  4. rush — hurry
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. toast — bread
  18. board — to get on
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. pitch — completely
  22. roll — a list
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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