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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: rash · pop · rest · face · game · date · tube · prune

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. tube — the underground
  3. face — to point toward
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. face — part of the head
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rash — hasty
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rest — a break
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pop — soda
  14. rash — a series
  15. rest — what's left
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. prune — to trim
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. game — a match
  22. face — to confront
  23. pop — music
  24. tube — a container

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