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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fork — in a road
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. mate — a partner
  7. band — a music group
  8. mate — a friend
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. band — a ring
  11. drill — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mate — to breed
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. hand — help
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. kid — to tease
  19. hand — in cards
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. can — a tin

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