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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: game · sharp · pit · mate · ruler · chair · present · prune

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. game — a match
  6. mate — a partner
  7. pit — in a race
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mate — a friend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. present — there
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. sharp — clever
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. game — a kind of play
  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