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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. prune — to trim
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. drill — the tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. drill — a practice
  8. season — in sport
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. season — of the year
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. sharp — clever
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. drill — army training
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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