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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: prune · face · pound · content · rash · pop · game · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pop — music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. face — to point toward
  8. content — the amount
  9. game — a match
  10. content — happy
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rash — hasty
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. face — part of the head
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rash — a series
  20. face — to confront
  21. hand — help
  22. pop — to visit
  23. pop — soda
  24. game — wild animals

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