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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. sharp — clever
  3. spell — magic
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pit — in a race
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. pit — a hole
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. prune — to trim
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. sharp — exactly

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