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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: prune · club · racket · pit · row · suit · game · face

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. suit — in cards
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. face — to point toward
  10. prune — to trim
  11. row — a line
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pit — a hole
  14. face — to confront
  15. suit — clothes
  16. club — a group
  17. suit — to fit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. game — wild animals
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pit — in a race
  24. racket — a loud noise

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