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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. capital — money
  4. file — a document
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. file — a tool
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. degree — temperature
  10. squash — to crush
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mug — to rob
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. squash — the sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. mug — a face
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mug — a cup
  24. file — a line of people

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