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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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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: trunk · pound · game · hide · drill · spell · bass · bound

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bound — tied together
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. drill — the tool
  11. spell — letters
  12. bound — certain
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bass — low music
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bass — the fish
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bound — obliged
  24. trunk — of a car

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