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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. date — the fruit
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mark — a grade
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fall — to drop
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mark — a trace
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. key — in music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bat — the animal
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. straw — a straw man

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