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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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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: bowl · game · deal · stick · bark · prune · pound · hand

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. hand — in cards
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. prune — to trim
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hand — help
  19. game — a match
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — to shout
  24. deal — a big deal

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