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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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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: content · fork · straw · drill · prune · spell · swing · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. club — for dancing
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. content — the amount
  9. club — for golf
  10. spell — magic
  11. fork — in a road
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. swing — in golf
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. swing — to play on
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. swing — music
  20. content — happy
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. content — videos and posts

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