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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. game — a match
  5. club — a group
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wake — a trail
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tube — the underground
  15. club — for dancing
  16. face — to point toward
  17. tube — a container
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. face — to confront
  20. ground — a position
  21. game — wild animals
  22. face — part of the head
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. club — for golf

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