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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: prune · stick · cap · chest · bass · spell · game · fork

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. game — wild animals
  4. cap — of ice
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cap — a hat
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. game — a match
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. spell — letters
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — a lid
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chest — a box
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. fork — in a road
  22. spell — magic
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spell — a short time

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