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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pitcher · wound · fan · plane · rule · prune · game · drill

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. rule — a law
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. drill — army training
  6. game — wild animals
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wound — an injury
  13. game — a match
  14. prune — to trim
  15. plane — a tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rule — government
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitcher — a jug

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