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

Word bank: pass · bat · mine · game · prune · firm · board · trunk

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pass — a permit
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — a company
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. game — a match
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. mine — for digging
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bat — in an idiom

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