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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hand — in cards
  3. prune — to trim
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. game — a match
  6. present — there
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. present — a gift
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. present — the time now
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. hand — help
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. prune — the fruit

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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