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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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Word bank
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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: hand · face · track · squash · mate · content · pitcher · prune

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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 — a jug
  2. face — to confront
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. hand — in cards
  5. face — to point toward
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. face — part of the head
  8. track — a path
  9. hand — help
  10. track — a song
  11. content — the amount
  12. track — to keep track
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mate — to breed
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mate — a friend
  21. squash — the sport
  22. content — happy
  23. mate — a partner
  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