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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. squash — to crush
  3. game — wild animals
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — in a road
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. root — of a word
  8. drill — a practice
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. game — a match
  13. drill — army training
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. march — music
  17. root — of a plant
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. root — the cause
  20. drill — the tool
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. march — the month
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. patient — a sick person

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