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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: arm · prune · bowl · drill · field · lie · game · fork

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. field — a subject
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. field — farmland
  13. drill — army training
  14. field — for sport
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. lie — to recline
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fork — in a road
  24. drill — the tool

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