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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 · lean · game · cold · trunk · ground · chip · racket

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — thin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cold — an illness
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. club — for dancing
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chip — to eat
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cold — not warm
  15. club — for golf
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. game — a match
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. game — wild animals
  21. chip — for betting
  22. club — a group
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lean — to rest against

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