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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. wake — a trail
  3. kid — child
  4. mug — a cup
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. game — wild animals
  11. date — the fruit
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. game — a match
  15. kick — in football
  16. mug — to rob
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. mug — a face
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. date — on the calendar

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