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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: drill · arm · squash · row · snap · fork · prune · game

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. prune — to trim
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. snap — to click
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. drill — army training
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fork — in a road
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. game — wild animals
  23. drill — a practice
  24. game — a match

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