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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. season — in sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wound — an injury
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. net — for catching
  11. season — of the year
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. net — in sport
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. net — after costs
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mine — for digging
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. trunk — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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