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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. club — for golf
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pit — in a race
  7. game — a match
  8. key — the most important part
  9. drill — the tool
  10. club — for dancing
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. key — for a lock
  14. club — a group
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. game — wild animals
  17. drill — army training
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. key — in music
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. drill — a practice

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