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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: ground · fall · game · trunk · mate · roll · row · season

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. ground — a position
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. fall — to drop
  5. row — a line
  6. ground — crushed
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mate — a friend
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. row — to paddle
  11. roll — a list
  12. mate — to breed
  13. game — wild animals
  14. roll — a cake
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fall — the season
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mate — a partner
  24. game — a match

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