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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 116 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. game — wild animals
  3. object — a thing
  4. tube — a container
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. cap — of ice
  7. club — a group
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cap — a lid
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. object — an aim
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. object — to protest
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cap — a hat
  19. clip — a video
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. game — a match
  24. tube — the underground

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