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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 120 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: bat · court · game · file · bear · suit · shower · trunk

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bear — the animal
  5. suit — to fit
  6. bat — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. file — a line of people
  11. court — of law
  12. shower — rain
  13. file — a tool
  14. bear — the animal
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. suit — clothes
  18. shower — to wash
  19. court — for sport
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. suit — in cards
  22. file — a document
  23. bear — to put up with
  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