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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. sharp — clever
  7. game — a match
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. club — for golf
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bear — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bear — the animal
  14. can — a tin
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bark — to shout
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bear — to put up with

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