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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. roll — a list
  3. mug — a cup
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — of your body
  7. roll — a cake
  8. object — to protest
  9. game — a match
  10. can — to be able to
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mug — to rob
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chest — a box
  15. object — a thing
  16. can — a tin
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mug — a face
  23. can — a tin
  24. game — wild animals

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