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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. file — a document
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. file — a tool
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. court — of law
  9. board — a committee
  10. shower — rain
  11. file — a line of people
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. court — of a king
  16. shower — to wash
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. board — to get on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. swing — in golf
  21. game — a match
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. court — for sport
  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