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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 120 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mark — a grade
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. game — wild animals
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bound — obliged
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. key — in music
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — a box
  15. key — the most important part
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bound — tied together
  18. mark — a trace
  19. game — a match
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bound — certain
  24. drill — a practice

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