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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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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: temple · pitcher · race · jam · present · cold · prune · cue

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. present — the time now
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cue — a signal
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. cue — a hint
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cue — for pool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. present — a gift
  21. cold — an illness
  22. present — there
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. prune — the fruit

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