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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 120 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kid — to tease
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. net — in sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. prune — to trim
  12. net — after costs
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. kid — child
  15. net — for catching
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tear — from crying

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