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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mug — a face
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. club — a group
  8. stock — shares
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. club — for golf
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mug — a cup
  13. stock — goods
  14. mug — to rob
  15. game — wild animals
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. game — a match
  18. date — the fruit

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