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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. swing — in golf
  4. drill — army training
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bound — obliged
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bat — the animal
  9. board — a committee
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. bound — certain
  13. chip — to eat
  14. swing — music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pop — soda
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bound — tied together
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pop — music
  24. board — to get on

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