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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bear — the animal
  4. content — happy
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. band — a music group
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. prune — to trim
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. content — the amount
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bear — the animal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. band — a ring
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. saw — the tool

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