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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mug — a cup
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. wound — an injury
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bulb — for light
  19. game — a match
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. mug — a face
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wind — moving air

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