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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. game — a match
  4. prune — to trim
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spell — a short time
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. spell — magic
  10. mate — a partner
  11. plane — a tool
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a friend
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. spell — letters
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. game — wild animals
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. track — a song

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