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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. game — a match
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. hand — help
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. prune — to trim
  9. deal — to handle
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. game — wild animals
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. hand — in cards
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug

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