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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bass — the fish
  3. lean — thin
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pitch — completely
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wound — an injury
  8. land — ground
  9. prune — to trim
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. land — to come down
  13. bark — to shout
  14. game — a match
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bass — low music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wound — an injury
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. land — a country
  24. bark — of a tree

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