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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: toast · deal · prune · rash · tear · roll · game · cold

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cold — not warm
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — wild animals
  15. toast — bread
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. roll — a list
  19. tear — from crying
  20. game — a match
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. deal — to handle
  23. roll — a cake
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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