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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. hand — in cards
  5. root — of a word
  6. prune — to trim
  7. root — the cause
  8. present — a gift
  9. root — of a plant
  10. scale — size or range
  11. present — there
  12. hand — help
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. present — the time now
  16. pitch — completely
  17. file — a tool
  18. game — wild animals
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. game — a match
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pitch — a sales talk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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