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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cell — a phone
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cell — in biology
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. rash — hasty
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. rash — a series
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. game — a match

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