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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 · jam · lash · cabinet · pop · prune · swing · land

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. land — to come down
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. pop — soda
  7. prune — to trim
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pop — to visit
  11. land — a country
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — ground
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. swing — music
  21. pop — music
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cabinet — ministers

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