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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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 — a match
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. march — music
  10. cell — in biology
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kid — child
  14. cell — a phone
  15. game — wild animals
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chip — for betting
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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