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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. cabinet — ministers
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pit — in a race
  4. field — farmland
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. field — for sport
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. field — a subject
  10. bound — tied together
  11. land — to come down
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. content — happy
  18. bound — obliged
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. land — ground
  22. bound — certain
  23. land — a country
  24. trunk — of a tree

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