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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. spell — letters
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stock — shares
  17. drill — army training
  18. rush — hurry
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. drill — the tool
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rush — a thrill

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