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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wind — moving air
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — crushed
  9. game — wild animals
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. lean — thin
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. lean — to bend
  23. game — a match
  24. ground — a position

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