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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 116 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. march — music
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. last — finally
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. scale — in music
  13. lean — thin
  14. tube — the underground
  15. march — the month
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. scale — size or range
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. tube — a container

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