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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. club — for golf
  6. bore — to tire
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bore — to drill
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. club — a group
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. season — of the year
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. season — in sport

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