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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. game — a match
  4. wound — an injury
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. spell — a short time
  7. deal — to handle
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spell — letters
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. game — wild animals
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fork — in a road
  21. spell — magic
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wound — an injury
  24. deal — an agreement

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