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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bound — certain
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. clip — for paper
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. drill — army training
  10. court — of law
  11. clip — a video
  12. bound — obliged
  13. court — of a king
  14. drill — the tool
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. fork — in a road
  17. prune — to trim
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bound — tied together
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. prune — to trim
  22. court — for sport
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. drill — a practice

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