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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chip — for betting
  7. land — ground
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. swing — in golf
  17. land — to come down
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. fine — all right
  20. land — a country
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. swing — music
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. chip — to eat

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