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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. band — a ring
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pop — music
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. squash — the sport
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. game — a match
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. band — a music group
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. pop — soda
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wake — before a funeral

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