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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. court — of a king
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. file — a document
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. band — a music group
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. court — of law
  17. game — wild animals
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a tool
  21. game — a match
  22. band — a ring
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. file — a line of people

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