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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. land — ground
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lean — to bend
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. march — the month
  10. chip — for betting
  11. drill — a practice
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. drill — the tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wound — an injury
  16. land — to come down
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. drill — army training
  20. march — music
  21. lean — thin
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. land — a country
  24. chip — to eat

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