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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. last — final
  5. game — a match
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. game — wild animals
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. snap — to click
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bound — certain
  18. last — to go on
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. shower — to wash
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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