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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wind — moving air
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a match
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. sharp — clever
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wound — an injury

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