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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · kick · pop · game · wake · wind · key · pitcher

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pop — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pop — to visit
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. game — a match
  17. key — in music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pop — soda
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. key — for a lock
  23. kick — in football
  24. wake — a trail

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