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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 116 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: bat · last · object · pound · band · saw · prune · pitcher

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pound — a weight
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. band — a music group
  7. saw — the tool
  8. last — finally
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bat — the animal
  11. object — to protest
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. object — a thing
  20. last — to go on
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. object — an aim
  23. last — final
  24. pitcher — a jug

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