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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bound — certain
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. tube — a container
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. saw — the tool
  11. craft — boats
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. bound — tied together
  15. craft — a skill
  16. land — ground
  17. bound — obliged
  18. land — to come down
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tube — the underground
  23. saw — the tool
  24. land — a country

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