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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bound — tied together
  3. hand — help
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. mate — to breed
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bound — obliged
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wax — to grow
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. mate — a partner
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bound — certain
  24. mate — a friend

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