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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pass — a permit
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cap — of ice
  13. scale — in music
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cap — a lid
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. game — a match
  21. cap — a hat
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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