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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. lean — thin
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. march — music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. march — the month
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. lean — to bend
  14. chip — for betting
  15. game — wild animals
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. march — the month
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. root — of a word
  24. game — a match

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