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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wound — an injury
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. game — wild animals
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. game — a match
  12. content — the amount
  13. wound — an injury
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. content — happy
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mate — a partner
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. racket — a loud noise

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