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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. spell — magic
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rash — a series
  6. bound — obliged
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bound — tied together
  9. field — for sport
  10. rash — hasty
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. field — a subject
  14. swing — in golf
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. bound — certain
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. game — wild animals
  21. swing — music
  22. spell — letters
  23. swing — to play on
  24. field — farmland

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