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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. face — to confront
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. prune — to trim
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stock — goods
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stock — shares
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. face — to point toward

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