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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
468
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: rest · fork · hand · calf · tube · pitcher · ground · prune

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. ground — crushed
  5. rest — what's left
  6. ground — a position
  7. tube — the underground
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. ground — the earth
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. fork — in a road
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rest — a break
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — to eat with

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