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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.

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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: key · prune · present · game · fan · land · object · clip

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — a thing
  4. prune — to trim
  5. present — the time now
  6. land — ground
  7. key — the most important part
  8. object — to protest
  9. key — for a lock
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. land — to come down
  12. clip — a video
  13. present — a gift
  14. prune — to trim
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. land — a country
  21. present — there
  22. game — wild animals
  23. key — in music
  24. game — a match

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