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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · ground · date · prune · mug · face · pitcher · last

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. race — humankind
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mug — to rob
  8. prune — to trim
  9. face — to confront
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — final
  12. prune — to trim
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. last — to go on
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mug — a face
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. face — part of the head
  19. last — finally
  20. race — the arms race
  21. mug — a cup
  22. date — the fruit
  23. race — a contest
  24. date — on the calendar

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