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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bass — low music
  3. staff — employees
  4. court — of a king
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — to eat
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. content — happy
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. fall — the season
  13. court — for sport
  14. bass — the fish
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. field — a subject
  18. fall — to drop
  19. court — of law
  20. field — farmland
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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