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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.

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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. drill — army training
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. roll — a cake
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. current — of water
  11. fork — in a road
  12. current — happening now
  13. drill — a practice
  14. roll — a list
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. current — electric
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. staff — a stick
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. staff — employees
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fork — to eat with

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