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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. band — a ring
  3. kid — to tease
  4. track — a song
  5. fork — in a road
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wake — a trail
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — army training
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a music group
  16. fall — to drop
  17. track — to keep track
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. track — a path
  21. kid — child
  22. fall — the season
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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