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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 was a fun ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bear — the animal
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. file — a tool
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bear — the animal
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. scale — size or range
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. file — a line of people
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. file — a document
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. scale — in music
  23. plane — a tool
  24. mine — belonging to me

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