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

Word bank: kid · fork · ruler · mine · foot · net · present · prune

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. net — after costs
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. net — for catching
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. fork — in a road
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mine — for digging
  18. net — in sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. present — the time now
  21. foot — a measure
  22. kid — child
  23. present — a gift
  24. ruler — for measuring

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