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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pop — music
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — a short time
  8. file — a line of people
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. file — a document
  11. spell — magic
  12. chip — to eat
  13. march — music
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. game — wild animals
  16. march — the month
  17. pop — soda
  18. file — a tool
  19. game — a match
  20. chip — for betting
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pop — to visit

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