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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. march — the month
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. ground — crushed
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. can — a tin
  12. stem — to come from
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. scale — in music
  15. ground — a position
  16. march — music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. can — a tin
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. can — to be able to
  21. march — the month
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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