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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — army training
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. current — happening now
  6. prune — to trim
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mate — to breed
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. drill — a practice
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. current — of water
  14. content — happy
  15. content — the amount
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. current — electric
  18. fork — in a road
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wind — moving air

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