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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: clip · nail · date · mine · pitcher · bulb · fork · mug

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mine — for digging
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mug — a face
  8. bulb — for light
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bulb — for light
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. clip — a video
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mug — to rob
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. fork — in a road

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