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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. mine — for digging
  3. game — a match
  4. toast — bread
  5. current — of water
  6. cap — of ice
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cap — a lid
  13. game — wild animals
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. current — electric
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. current — happening now
  20. wound — an injury
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cap — a hat
  24. arm — part of the body

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