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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: prune · chest · mine · racket · pop · game · fan · leaves

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pop — soda
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chest — of your body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. prune — to trim
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pop — to visit
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — for digging
  20. game — wild animals
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. chest — a box
  23. pop — music
  24. racket — a loud noise

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