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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. drill — army training
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — in a road
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. last — to go on
  9. drill — the tool
  10. content — the amount
  11. object — a thing
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — a division
  14. last — finally
  15. object — an aim
  16. drill — a practice
  17. object — to protest
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. content — happy
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. swing — in golf

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