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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. scale — size or range
  6. band — a ring
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. prune — to trim
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. capital — a city
  16. band — a music group
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stand — to bear
  20. capital — money
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — for weighing

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