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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. game — wild animals
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wound — an injury
  13. capital — money
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. game — a match
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. capital — a city
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. scale — in music
  24. game — a kind of play

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