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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. hand — help
  3. rest — what's left
  4. press — to push
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. plane — a tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. band — a music group
  9. drill — the tool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. rest — a break
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rest — what's left
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stand — to bear
  18. band — a ring
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. press — newspapers
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. band — a rubber band

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