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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 120 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: bear · march · tube · bowl · fork · prune · dip · pit

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. tube — a container
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bear — the animal
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pit — a hole
  16. tube — the underground
  17. pit — in a race
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. dip — to sink
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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