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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 · mine · fan · rest · pop · saw · game · bore

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. pop — music
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — a match
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mine — for digging
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — to drill
  16. pop — soda
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. pop — to visit
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. game — wild animals

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