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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: hand · game · ground · club · trunk · bowl · pitcher · rock

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. rock — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. club — for dancing
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ground — a position
  8. game — a match
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. club — a group
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — the earth
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. club — for golf
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. game — a kind of play

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