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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 116 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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. club — a group
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — for pool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mate — a partner
  6. land — to come down
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. land — a country
  9. club — for golf
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. mate — to breed
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mate — a friend
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — ground
  17. drill — the tool
  18. club — for dancing
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cue — a signal
  23. drill — army training
  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