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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cap — a lid
  11. scale — size or range
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. rest — a break
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cap — a hat
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. scale — in music
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. wound — an injury

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