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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — final
  3. court — of law
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. last — finally
  7. court — for sport
  8. last — to go on
  9. fork — in a road
  10. scale — size or range
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bore — to drill
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to tire
  24. court — of a king

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