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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. net — after costs
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. fork — in a road
  5. shower — to wash
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bound — certain
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. snap — to click
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. bound — tied together
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. net — in sport
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bound — obliged
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. game — a match
  23. net — for catching
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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