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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · ground · mark · chest · patient · hand · game · present

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. game — a match
  3. present — a gift
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ground — the earth
  6. present — there
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — a position
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mark — a trace
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. present — the time now
  16. chest — a box
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. mark — a grade
  22. hand — in cards
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. hand — help

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