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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fall — to drop
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bass — low music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. fall — the season
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — to drop
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rock — a stone
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. rock — music
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. game — a match
  17. bass — the fish
  18. game — wild animals

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