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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. suit — in cards
  6. suit — to fit
  7. kick — in football
  8. ball — a great time
  9. game — a match
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stock — shares
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. suit — clothes
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stock — goods
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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