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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. drill — a practice
  5. craft — a skill
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. fork — in a road
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. drill — army training
  13. tear — to rip
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. root — the cause
  21. drill — the tool
  22. root — of a word
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rush — hurry

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