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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 120 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: prune · foot · mouse · row · cold · game · dip · fine

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. game — a match
  7. dip — to sink
  8. fine — all right
  9. cold — an illness
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. game — wild animals
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fine — high quality
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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