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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — not warm
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — army training
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. saw — the tool
  19. row — a line
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. saw — the tool

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