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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. key — for a lock
  3. foot — a measure
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fine — all right
  6. game — a match
  7. clip — a video
  8. key — in music
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. court — of law
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. date — the fruit
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fine — high quality
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. key — the most important part
  24. game — wild animals

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