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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: swing · ball · foot · bark · present · game · mine · can

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. swing — to play on
  3. present — a gift
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. can — a tin
  6. game — wild animals
  7. ball — a great time
  8. game — a match
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. swing — music
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. present — the time now
  16. bark — to shout
  17. present — there
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. ball — a dance
  21. swing — in golf
  22. foot — a measure
  23. mine — for digging
  24. foot — part of the body

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