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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pitch — completely
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. face — part of the head

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