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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 120 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: nail · kid · bat · prune · straw · fork · branch · object

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. object — an aim
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kid — child
  6. prune — to trim
  7. object — a thing
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. kid — to tease
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fork — in a road
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. object — to protest

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