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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tube — the underground
  4. craft — a skill
  5. march — the month
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. march — the month
  8. craft — boats
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. march — music
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. prune — to trim
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. tube — a container
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. snap — to click
  24. prune — to trim

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