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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. game — wild animals
  5. scale — size or range
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. field — for sport
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. scale — in music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. field — farmland
  16. game — a match
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — a subject
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. saw — the tool

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