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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. capital — money
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. craft — boats
  9. craft — a skill
  10. game — wild animals
  11. degree — temperature
  12. snap — to click
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. club — for golf
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. capital — a city
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — a group

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