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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 cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rash — hasty
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hand — help
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. root — of a word
  12. kick — in football
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. root — of a plant
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rash — a series
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. fork — in a road
  24. root — the cause

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