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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 120 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — a container
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — farmland
  7. rock — a stone
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — letters
  11. lie — to recline
  12. tube — the underground
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. prune — to trim
  16. field — a subject
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. field — for sport
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. spell — magic
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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