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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 116 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. present — a gift
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. march — music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. present — there
  11. track — a song
  12. wound — an injury
  13. object — an aim
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. fork — in a road
  17. object — a thing
  18. wound — an injury
  19. object — to protest
  20. march — the month
  21. present — the time now
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. fork — a garden tool

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