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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. suit — clothes
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pop — to visit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. can — a tin
  13. prune — to trim
  14. can — to be able to
  15. bat — the animal
  16. can — a tin
  17. suit — to fit
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. game — a match
  21. suit — in cards
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bat — for baseball
  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