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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bass — the fish
  6. net — after costs
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. spell — letters
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. spell — magic
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. net — for catching
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bass — low music
  19. drill — the tool
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. net — in sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. staff — employees
  24. drill — army training

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