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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. hand — help
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. shower — rain
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. club — for golf
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. shower — to wash
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bay — a horse colour

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