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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. last — finally
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. last — final
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pound — a weight
  8. prune — to trim
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. fork — in a road
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. last — to go on
  24. spring — the season

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