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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. rock — music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wound — an injury
  14. race — a contest
  15. rock — a stone
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. race — humankind
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. branch — a division
  22. race — the arms race
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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