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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. kid — child
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pit — a hole
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. kid — to tease
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stand — to bear
  20. drill — the tool
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wave — of the sea

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