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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. land — ground
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. land — a country
  6. roll — a cake
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. land — to come down
  10. foot — a measure
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pop — to visit
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. game — a match
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. field — a subject
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. trunk — of a tree

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