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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitch — completely
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wax — to grow
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bat — for baseball

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