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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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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rule — government
  3. cell — a phone
  4. game — wild animals
  5. craft — a skill
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. rule — a law
  17. craft — boats
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cell — in biology
  22. game — a match
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. straw — dry grass

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