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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. shower — to wash
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rock — music
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bore — to tire
  8. rest — a break
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rock — a stone
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. game — a match
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spring — the season
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rest — what's left
  22. shower — rain
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. cabinet — ministers

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