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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bank — for money
  4. game — a match
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. game — wild animals
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. snap — to click
  16. bank — of a river
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bank — for money
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bear — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spring — of water

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