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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. net — after costs
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. game — wild animals
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. game — a match
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bear — the animal
  16. tube — the underground
  17. tube — a container
  18. lie — to recline
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. tube — in a tire

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