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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 116 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: straw · dip · squash · fork · kid · prune · wound · ground

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. squash — to crush
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. ground — a position
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ground — the earth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kid — child
  23. fork — in a road
  24. ground — crushed

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