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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — from a university
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wound — an injury
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. club — for dancing
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. club — for golf
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. wound — an injury
  19. club — a group
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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