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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 116 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: straw · land · swing · game · trunk · kid · dip · bowl

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. swing — to play on
  8. game — wild animals
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. land — to come down
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. kid — child
  22. land — ground
  23. bowl — to roll
  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