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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. march — music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. game — wild animals
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. prune — to trim
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. game — a match
  15. chest — of your body
  16. dip — to sink
  17. shower — to wash
  18. march — the month
  19. shower — rain
  20. march — the month
  21. chest — a box
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. sharp — clever
  24. ruler — for measuring

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