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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. craft — a skill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. file — a document
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. fork — in a road
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. prune — to trim
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — boats
  19. content — the amount
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — to tire
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. content — happy
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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