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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. drill — army training
  7. shower — rain
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — the tool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. drill — a practice
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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