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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. game — a match
  15. file — a document
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. file — a line of people
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. snap — to click
  23. file — a tool
  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