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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. scale — size or range
  3. staff — employees
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chest — of your body
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. staff — employees
  15. scale — in music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. game — a match
  20. chest — a box
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. staff — a stick

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