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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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. dip — to sink
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chip — to eat
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cell — in biology
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. cell — a phone
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. scale — in music
  19. game — a match
  20. chip — for betting
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mine — for digging

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