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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — in music
  5. bass — low music
  6. tube — a container
  7. key — the most important part
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tube — the underground
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bass — the fish
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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