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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. board — a committee
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bore — to drill
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. wind — moving air
  17. race — the arms race
  18. court — of a king
  19. bore — to tire
  20. board — to get on
  21. court — of law
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. court — for sport
  24. game — a match

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