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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. swing — to play on
  4. board — to get on
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. scale — size or range
  7. shower — to wash
  8. swing — in golf
  9. game — wild animals
  10. file — a line of people
  11. shower — rain
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. board — a committee
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. scale — in music
  19. swing — music
  20. game — a match
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. game — a kind of play

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