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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rest — a break
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. pit — in a race
  5. kid — to tease
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. spell — a short time
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. game — a match
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. spell — letters
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spell — magic
  18. bass — the fish
  19. kid — child
  20. pit — a hole
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bass — low music
  24. scale — in music

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