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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. date — the fruit
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. scale — in music
  8. race — the arms race
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. scale — size or range
  11. prune — to trim
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. prune — to trim
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bear — the animal
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bear — the animal
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. saw — the tool
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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