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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: dip · bear · prune · pound · tear · file · game · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. pound — a weight
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bear — the animal
  8. prune — to trim
  9. file — a document
  10. game — a match
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. dip — to sink
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. game — wild animals
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. file — a line of people
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. file — a tool

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