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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. shower — to wash
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. march — music
  6. fork — in a road
  7. band — a ring
  8. drill — army training
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. drill — the tool
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. shower — rain
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. march — the month
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. drill — a practice
  22. track — a song
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. racket — for tennis

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