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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. squash — the sport
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rest — what's left
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cap — a lid
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. rest — what's left
  10. prune — to trim
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. band — a ring
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. cap — of ice

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