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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. board — to get on
  3. squash — the sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. mate — a partner
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — a weight
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. mate — a friend
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. squash — to crush
  22. game — a match
  23. board — a committee
  24. nail — on a finger

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