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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. rock — a stone
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. content — happy
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. rock — music
  11. content — the amount
  12. tear — to rip
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. game — a match
  16. tear — from crying
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. branch — a division
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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