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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cap — a hat
  5. staff — employees
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. field — for sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. staff — a stick
  10. field — a subject
  11. shower — rain
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. cap — a lid
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cap — of ice
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. game — a match
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — farmland
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. dip — a sauce

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