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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ground — a position
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ground — the earth
  6. scale — in music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. prune — to trim
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. date — the fruit
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. kid — child
  23. scale — size or range
  24. ground — crushed

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