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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pit — a hole
  3. kick — in football
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. spell — magic
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. field — farmland
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. pit — in a race
  15. field — for sport
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. field — a subject
  18. game — wild animals
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. game — a match

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