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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. tube — the underground
  2. tube — a container
  3. ground — the earth
  4. hand — in cards
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. fine — high quality
  8. ground — a position
  9. fine — all right
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ground — crushed
  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