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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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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 · land · field · trunk · rest · bound · key · cue

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. field — farmland
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bound — certain
  5. land — to come down
  6. rest — what's left
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bound — obliged
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. key — for a lock
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — a subject
  14. key — the most important part
  15. cue — a signal
  16. key — in music
  17. cue — a hint
  18. game — a match
  19. rest — a break
  20. field — for sport
  21. land — ground
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bound — tied together
  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