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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: roll · land · wound · club · trunk · mouse · mate · deal

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. roll — a list
  6. deal — to handle
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mate — to breed
  10. land — to come down
  11. wound — an injury
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. club — a group
  15. mate — a friend
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. land — ground
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mate — a partner
  20. club — for golf
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. land — a country

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