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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. charge — electricity
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — for betting
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. band — a ring
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. game — a match
  15. bark — to shout
  16. charge — in control
  17. kick — in football
  18. charge — a price
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. band — a music 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