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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. board — to get on
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. scale — in music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. game — a match
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fall — the season
  14. game — wild animals
  15. scale — size or range
  16. board — a committee
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rock — a stone
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rock — music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fine — all right

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