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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. row — a line
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stock — goods
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. stock — shares
  15. drill — a practice
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. drill — army training
  21. row — to paddle
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. fork — a garden 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