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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. hand — in cards
  4. field — for sport
  5. bear — the animal
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. stand — to bear
  9. bear — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. roll — a cake
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. field — farmland
  17. game — a match
  18. field — a subject
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. hand — help
  21. roll — a list
  22. mark — a trace
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. mark — a grade

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