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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
468
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 · root · scale · row · arm · prune · pitcher · wind

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — a line
  5. game — a match
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. scale — in music
  8. root — the cause
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. root — of a plant
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. scale — size or range
  24. root — of a word

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