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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. game — a match
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hand — help
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. hand — in cards
  17. march — music
  18. toast — bread
  19. wax — to grow
  20. march — the month
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wound — an injury
  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