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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. craft — a skill
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cold — an illness
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. cold — not warm
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. prune — to trim
  12. roll — a list
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. shower — rain
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cell — in biology
  21. shower — to wash
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. fork — a garden tool

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