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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. season — in sport
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. game — a match
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. game — wild animals
  14. season — of the year
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. roll — a list
  17. prune — to trim
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. roll — a cake
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. shower — rain
  23. roll — on a roll
  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