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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. saw — the tool
  3. degree — temperature
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rule — government
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. ground — a position
  10. rule — a law
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. scale — in music
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. ground — the earth
  19. mine — for digging
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. scale — size or range

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