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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 hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bass — the fish
  5. present — a gift
  6. hand — in cards
  7. field — for sport
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. firm — steady
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — there
  16. firm — decided
  17. bass — low music
  18. plane — a tool
  19. firm — a company
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. hand — help
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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