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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. club — for dancing
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. drill — army training
  8. land — to come down
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. club — a group
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wake — a trail
  13. drill — the tool
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. drill — a practice
  18. game — a match
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. club — for golf
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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