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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: prune · pop · bat · cabinet · fork · foot · tear · rock

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fork — in a road
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rock — music
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. tear — from crying
  10. foot — a measure
  11. tear — to rip
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. rock — a stone
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — to visit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pop — music
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. fork — a garden 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