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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chest — of your body
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. craft — boats
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. board — a committee
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wake — a trail
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. board — to get on
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — a subject
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. chest — a box

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