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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pop — to visit
  5. face — to confront
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. face — part of the head
  8. rule — a law
  9. scale — in music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. face — to point toward
  13. ball — a great time
  14. rule — government
  15. pop — music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pop — soda
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. ball — a dance
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. prune — to trim
  24. saw — the 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