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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.

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 · pitcher · prune · bass · kid · ground · club · hand

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ground — the earth
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bass — low music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. club — for golf
  11. kid — child
  12. club — for dancing
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. ground — a position
  19. tear — from crying
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bass — the fish
  23. club — a group
  24. kid — to tease

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