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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 120 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: pop · game · prune · bear · staff · land · row · wound

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. staff — employees
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pop — music
  6. prune — to trim
  7. row — a line
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. staff — employees
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. game — a match
  14. land — a country
  15. bear — the animal
  16. land — ground
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pop — soda
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. staff — a stick
  23. land — to come down
  24. game — a kind of play

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