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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. scale — size or range
  3. race — the arms race
  4. can — a tin
  5. race — humankind
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ground — a position
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. prune — to trim
  11. scale — in music
  12. prune — to trim
  13. race — a contest
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. shower — to wash
  19. can — a tin
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. can — to be able to
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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