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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rule — a law
  3. pop — music
  4. game — a match
  5. prune — to trim
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. present — a gift
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. season — of the year
  14. pop — to visit
  15. present — there
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. season — in sport
  20. present — the time now
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. prune — the fruit

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