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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cap — a lid
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cap — a hat
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bat — the animal
  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