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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: tear · prune · toast · chest · ball · pitcher · can · field

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. can — to be able to
  3. chest — a box
  4. tear — to rip
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. ball — a great time
  10. field — for sport
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. field — a subject
  13. can — a tin
  14. ball — a dance
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — to trim
  17. toast — bread
  18. field — farmland
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chest — of your body
  23. can — a tin
  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