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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. wind — moving air
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. snap — to click
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. prune — to trim
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kick — in football

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