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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pop — soda
  4. ground — crushed
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chair — a leader
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pop — to visit
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. game — wild animals
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mate — a friend
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ground — a position
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pop — music
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. mate — to breed
  21. spring — of water
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. game — a match
  24. spring — the season

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