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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. season — in sport
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. last — to go on
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — to shout
  10. last — finally
  11. rash — a series
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rash — hasty
  17. fall — to drop
  18. last — final
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. season — of the year

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