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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 120 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: game · race · march · calf · trunk · current · land · racket

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. march — the month
  3. land — to come down
  4. game — wild animals
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. race — the arms race
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. march — the month
  10. race — humankind
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. march — music
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. current — happening now
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. race — a contest
  20. current — of water
  21. land — a country
  22. current — electric
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. land — ground

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