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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: chest · wind · club · mug · fork · prune · drill · stand

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mug — a cup
  5. wind — moving air
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mug — to rob
  10. chest — a box
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mug — a face
  20. drill — army training
  21. club — for dancing
  22. fork — in a road
  23. stand — to bear
  24. chest — of your body

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