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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. game — wild animals
  7. kid — child
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bear — the animal
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pit — in a race
  12. drill — army training
  13. pit — a hole
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. object — a thing
  17. drill — a practice
  18. object — to protest
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. spring — of water
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. object — an aim

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