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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · plane · drill · perch · wake · pit · prune · straw

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. kid — to tease
  3. plane — a tool
  4. pit — a hole
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. kid — child
  10. perch — the fish
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pit — in a race
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. wake — a trail
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. straw — dry grass

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