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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  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. drill — army training
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. drill — a practice
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bank — for money
  13. present — a gift
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — a tool
  18. present — there
  19. bank — for money
  20. chest — a box
  21. drill — the tool
  22. present — the time now
  23. bank — of a river
  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