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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 116 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mark — a grade
  4. ground — a position
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. ground — crushed
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mark — a trace
  18. prune — to trim
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ground — the earth
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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