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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. plane — a tool
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. race — a contest
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. race — the arms race
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. track — a path
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. race — humankind

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