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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: tube · rush · mine · prune · pitcher · arm · content · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tube — the underground
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. last — finally
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. rush — hurry
  22. tube — a container
  23. last — to go on
  24. mine — an explosive

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