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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: current · trunk · game · field · land · bat · pound · bowl

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. game — a match
  5. land — a country
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — for sport
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. field — a subject
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. field — farmland
  21. pound — a weight
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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