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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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 car
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wound — an injury
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. game — a match
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. pop — soda
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pop — to visit
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. deal — to handle
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. pop — music
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rock — music
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. wound — an injury

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