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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: game · prune · mark · stand · clip · chest · rash · ruler

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chest — a box
  9. game — wild animals
  10. rash — hasty
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — a match
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. mark — a grade
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stand — to bear
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mark — a trace
  24. ruler — for measuring

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