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

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mate — a partner
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitch — completely
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. band — a ring
  12. snap — to click
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mate — to breed
  15. game — wild animals
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band

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