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

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. kid — child
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. drill — a practice
  5. game — a match
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. track — to keep track
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fork — in a road
  13. kid — to tease
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. can — a tin
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. can — a tin

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