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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 · temple · wave · pitch · prune · rule · pop · row

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rule — government
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. game — wild animals
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — to visit
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rule — a law
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pop — music
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. game — a match
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rule — to rule out

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