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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. can — to be able to
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. track — to keep track
  9. prune — to trim
  10. track — a song
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. content — the amount
  15. prune — to trim
  16. game — a match
  17. can — a tin
  18. content — happy
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. track — a path
  21. can — a tin
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. game — wild animals

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