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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. land — ground
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. game — a match
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. land — a country
  13. bark — to shout
  14. squash — the sport
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. pound — a weight
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. game — wild animals
  22. land — to come down
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. squash — to crush

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