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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. spell — letters
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. spell — magic
  9. face — part of the head
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. shower — to wash
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. face — to confront
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spell — a short time
  16. shower — rain
  17. rush — hurry
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. prune — to trim
  20. capital — a city
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. capital — money
  24. face — to point toward

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