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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: deal · game · plane · rush · pitch · band · trunk · row

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. game — a match
  9. deal — to handle
  10. rush — hurry
  11. row — to paddle
  12. game — wild animals
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. row — a line
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. pitch — completely
  19. band — a ring
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. plane — a tool
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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