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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mate — a partner
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. game — a match
  8. can — a tin
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. vault — a safe
  11. shower — to wash
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. can — to be able to
  17. shower — rain
  18. mate — to breed
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mate — a friend
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. can — a tin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. game — wild animals

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