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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a music group
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chip — to eat
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. prune — to trim
  12. craft — a skill
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. band — a ring
  16. last — to go on
  17. chip — for betting
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. game — a match
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. chip — in a computer

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