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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: club · object · bound · date · kid · trunk · chair · game

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. club — for golf
  3. bound — tied together
  4. club — a group
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. game — a match
  7. club — for dancing
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bound — certain
  11. kid — child
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. object — to protest
  16. bound — obliged
  17. object — an aim
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. object — a thing
  22. date — the fruit
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chair — a leader

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