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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. game — wild animals
  7. season — of the year
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. game — a match
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. season — in sport
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. drill — army training
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. drill — the tool

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