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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 124 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cap — a hat
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — finally
  14. prune — to trim
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. rash — a series
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. drill — army training
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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