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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. bass — the fish
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. spring — the season
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rock — music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. charge — a price
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rock — a stone
  12. chip — to eat
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. spring — a coil
  15. game — a match
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — in control
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. charge — electricity
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bass — low music
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chip — for betting
  24. bass — the instrument

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