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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  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. net — for catching
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. track — a path
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. track — to keep track
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. game — a match
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. net — in sport
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. squash — to crush
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. net — after costs
  21. track — a song
  22. pass — a permit
  23. straw — dry grass
  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