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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 ________________ to happen.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. game — a match
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bound — tied together
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rock — music
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rock — a stone
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pit — in a race
  21. swing — music
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bat — in an idiom

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