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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. prune — to trim
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. chest — of your body
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. face — to confront
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chest — a box
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. face — part of the head
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. face — to point toward
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — size or range
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  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