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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — farmland
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. foot — a measure
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. roll — a cake
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. can — a tin
  11. roll — a list
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. prune — to trim
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. tear — from crying
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — from crying
  24. temple — a place of worship

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