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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. content — the amount
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. lie — to recline
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — a match
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. hand — in cards
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. hand — help
  20. game — wild animals
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. content — happy
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. lie — an untruth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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