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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. kid — child
  3. court — of a king
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. court — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mark — a grade
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mark — a trace
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. drill — a practice
  21. court — of law
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mouse — the animal
  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