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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. ground — crushed
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. last — finally
  11. ground — a position
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. ground — the earth
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  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