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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rock — a stone
  9. present — there
  10. chip — for betting
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. present — the time now
  14. rock — music
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chip — in a computer

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