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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: prune · ground · file · cap · racket · game · swing · coach

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — the earth
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. prune — to trim
  5. swing — music
  6. file — a tool
  7. game — a match
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. swing — in golf
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cap — a hat
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cap — a lid
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cap — of ice
  18. swing — to play on
  19. file — a document
  20. ground — a position
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. file — a line of people

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