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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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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. snap — to click
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wound — an injury
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. wound — an injury
  11. object — an aim
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. object — a thing
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pit — in a race
  20. object — to protest
  21. scale — in music
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. sharp — exactly

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