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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bear · pop · kid · date · board · jam · game · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kid — to tease
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. pop — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. kid — child
  7. board — a committee
  8. game — wild animals
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. date — the fruit
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. bear — the animal
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. board — to get on
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. game — a match
  24. prune — the fruit

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