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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: coach · plane · last · bowl · prune · kid · fork · file

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. plane — a tool
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. kid — to tease
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. kid — child
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. last — finally
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. last — final
  18. file — a line of people
  19. last — to go on
  20. file — a tool
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. fork — in a road
  23. file — a document
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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