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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: ground · straw · trunk · perch · plane · game

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. ground — a position
  5. perch — the fish
  6. game — wild animals
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. plane — a tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. game — a match
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth

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