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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. key — for a lock
  7. pop — soda
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. face — part of the head
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. face — to confront
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wax — to grow
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. key — in music
  19. face — to point toward
  20. key — the most important part
  21. pop — to visit
  22. club — a group
  23. pop — music
  24. prune — the fruit

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