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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. band — a music group
  4. fork — in a road
  5. last — final
  6. march — the month
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kid — to tease
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. march — the month
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. last — to go on
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. march — music

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