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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rest — what's left
  4. content — happy
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. drill — army training
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. game — wild animals
  10. sharp — clever
  11. saw — the tool
  12. drill — the tool
  13. content — the amount
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. saw — the tool
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. rest — a break
  21. drill — a practice
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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