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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. band — a music group
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bore — to tire
  8. track — a path
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. ball — a dance
  11. band — a ring
  12. ball — a great time
  13. chest — a box
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. drill — a practice
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. chest — of your body
  20. vault — a safe
  21. chest — of your body
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bore — to drill
  24. fork — in a road

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