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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 124 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. track — a song
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. track — to keep track
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. chest — a box
  10. track — a path
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. chest — of your body
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. snap — to click
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — of your body
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. wake — a trail
  24. prune — the fruit

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