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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 · fall · content · chest · drill · nail · fork · cap

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cap — a hat
  4. prune — to trim
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. content — the amount
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chest — a box
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cap — a lid
  12. chest — of your body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. content — happy
  17. fall — the season
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. nail — on a finger
  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