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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a ring
  5. mine — for digging
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. game — a match
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wake — a trail
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. prune — to trim
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. racket — for tennis

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