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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: march · foot · game · straw · saw · roll · trunk · craft

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  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. straw — dry grass
  3. craft — a skill
  4. game — wild animals
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — music
  8. roll — a list
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. roll — a cake
  15. craft — boats
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. march — the month
  19. game — a match
  20. foot — a measure
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. saw — the tool
  23. march — the month
  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