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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. season — in sport
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. craft — a skill
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — boats
  12. spring — a coil
  13. ground — a position
  14. spring — of water
  15. game — a match
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. season — of the year
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. spring — the season
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. ground — the earth

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