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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bass — the fish
  5. sharp — clever
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. game — a match
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. game — wild animals
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. spring — the season
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — a trail
  24. spring — of water

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