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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. prune — to trim
  4. game — wild animals
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. game — a match
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — in music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stem — to come from
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. charge — in control
  18. charge — a price
  19. snap — to click
  20. charge — electricity
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pound — a weight
  24. prune — the fruit

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