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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. firm — a company
  4. field — farmland
  5. ball — a dance
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. field — a subject
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. firm — steady
  12. prune — to trim
  13. deal — to handle
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. game — wild animals
  17. field — for sport
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. firm — decided
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. ball — a great time

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