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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: game · racket · straw · ruler · prune · charge · march · clip

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. march — music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — the month
  8. charge — in control
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. charge — a price
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — to trim
  17. clip — a video
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. prune — to trim
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — to cut
  23. charge — electricity
  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