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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · march · trunk · wound · cue · jam

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. cue — a signal
  3. march — the month
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. game — a match
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — for pool
  11. wound — an injury
  12. march — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wound — an injury
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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