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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mark — a grade
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chest — of your body
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. stock — shares
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. chest — a box
  18. land — a country
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. mark — a trace
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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