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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: sharp · saw · pitcher · spring · ball · pass · mine · prune

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. saw — the tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. ball — a great time
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. ball — a dance
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. saw — the tool
  16. mine — for digging
  17. spring — of water
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spring — a coil
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pass — a permit
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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