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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. pitch — completely
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — music
  12. sharp — clever
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. march — the month
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. march — the month
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pound — a weight
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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