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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mark — a grade
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bank — for money
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. game — a match
  13. mark — a trace
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bank — for money
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bank — of a river
  20. pit — in a race
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. game — wild animals
  24. fork — a garden tool

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