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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kick — in football
  4. mug — to rob
  5. drill — army training
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. mug — a cup
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. race — humankind
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — in sport
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fork — in a road
  19. race — a contest
  20. mug — a face
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. net — for catching
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. race — the arms race

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