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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.

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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: track · pitcher · prune · mark · toast · last · hide · ground

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. prune — to trim
  3. toast — bread
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mark — a grade
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. last — to go on
  9. ground — crushed
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — finally
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mark — a trace
  15. ground — a position
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. track — a song
  18. track — a path
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — final
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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