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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. bass — low music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bass — the fish
  10. game — a match
  11. court — of a king
  12. season — of the year
  13. court — of law
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. court — for sport
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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