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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. bulb — for light
  4. game — a match
  5. degree — from a university
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. swing — to play on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. swing — music
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. rule — government
  19. degree — temperature
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bulb — for light
  22. swing — in golf
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rule — a law

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