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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. club — for dancing
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bark — to shout
  12. game — wild animals
  13. club — for golf
  14. band — a music group
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. capital — money
  19. game — a match
  20. capital — a city
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. band — a ring
  23. prune — to trim
  24. club — a group

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