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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cap — of ice
  5. saw — the tool
  6. game — wild animals
  7. staff — a stick
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. saw — the tool
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cap — a lid
  15. march — the month
  16. staff — employees
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. spring — of water
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. ball — a great time
  22. staff — employees
  23. cap — a hat
  24. game — a kind of play

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