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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. ground — the earth
  3. game — wild animals
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. ground — a position
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. row — a line
  9. cap — of ice
  10. file — a tool
  11. game — a match
  12. club — for dancing
  13. file — a line of people
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. file — a document
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. mark — a grade
  22. club — a group
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. club — for golf

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