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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: bear · mine · pitcher · leaves · cap · trunk · game · roll

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. roll — a cake
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. game — a match
  24. mine — belonging to me

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