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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mark — a trace
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — to confront
  13. mark — a grade
  14. tear — to rip
  15. band — a ring
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fork — in a road
  20. band — a music group
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pound — a weight
  24. fork — a garden tool

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