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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: wake · sharp · foot · racket · stem · game · prune · pound

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. sharp — clever
  4. game — a match
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. foot — a measure
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. pound — a weight
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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