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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. spell — letters
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. mine — for digging
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spell — a short time
  12. kick — in football
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. drill — the tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. pitch — completely
  17. spell — magic
  18. mine — an explosive

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