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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 116 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  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. fork — in a road
  2. mark — a trace
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mark — a grade
  5. scale — size or range
  6. swing — music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rest — what's left
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. game — a match
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. rest — a break
  13. clip — for paper
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. clip — to cut
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. scale — in music
  23. clip — a video
  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