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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: club · trunk · pop · court · cabinet · rash · squash · chip

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rash — hasty
  4. club — for golf
  5. court — for sport
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. rash — a series
  9. court — of law
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. pop — to visit
  14. chip — to eat
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pop — music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. court — of a king

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