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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. game — a match
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bound — certain
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bound — tied together
  12. hand — help
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wind — moving air
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. hand — in cards
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mate — to breed
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. trunk — of a car

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