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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 120 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a match
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. craft — a skill
  6. prune — to trim
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mark — a trace
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bank — for money
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bank — for money
  20. mark — a grade
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bank — of a river
  24. shower — rain

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