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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. mine — for digging
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. drill — army training
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rash — a series
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. key — for a lock
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. key — the most important part
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. key — in music
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mine — an explosive

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