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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — the season
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. object — to protest
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. prune — to trim
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. fork — in a road
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — for digging
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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