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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — electric
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. tube — the underground
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. tube — a container
  10. kid — to tease
  11. current — of water
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. current — happening now
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. plane — a tool
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. shower — to wash
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fork — to eat with

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