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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 116 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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. degree — from a university
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ground — a position
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ground — crushed
  16. hand — in cards
  17. game — wild animals
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. degree — temperature
  23. racket — for tennis
  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