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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. season — in sport
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. sharp — clever
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. season — of the year
  11. file — a document
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pound — a weight
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. game — wild animals
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. file — a tool
  22. game — a match
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. chest — of your body

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