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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: swing · trunk · arm · content · perch · game · chip · pit

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pit — in a race
  5. chip — to eat
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. chip — for betting
  8. game — wild animals
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. game — a match
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pit — a hole
  19. swing — music
  20. content — the amount
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. game — a kind of play

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