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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. row — to paddle
  4. capital — a city
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. capital — money
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. drill — army training
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. drill — the tool
  20. row — a line
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. chest — a box
  24. drill — a practice

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