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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. game — a match
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. tube — a container
  5. suit — clothes
  6. bank — for money
  7. date — the fruit
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. suit — in cards
  12. suit — to fit
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bank — for money
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bank — of a river
  21. tube — the underground
  22. pop — to visit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wind — moving air

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