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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 · pitcher · suit · ground · content · hand · game · fork

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. ground — a position
  4. suit — to fit
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. game — a match
  11. fork — in a road
  12. prune — to trim
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — help
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. suit — clothes
  21. suit — in cards
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ground — crushed
  24. ground — the earth

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