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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. squash — to crush
  4. suit — in cards
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. drill — the tool
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — to fit
  10. cell — in biology
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. drill — army training
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. plane — a tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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