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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: hand · chest · trunk · jam · game · toast · suit · ground

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. suit — in cards
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. ground — crushed
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. suit — to fit
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. chest — a box
  16. hand — help
  17. game — a match
  18. suit — clothes
  19. ground — the earth
  20. ground — a position
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. game — wild animals
  24. chest — of your 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