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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. game — wild animals
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. game — a match
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. kick — in football
  11. land — ground
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bark — to shout
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. land — to come down
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. row — a line
  24. land — a country

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