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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. band — a ring
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. craft — a skill
  6. ground — a position
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. craft — boats
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. band — a music group
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. ground — the earth
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kick — in football

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