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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. net — in sport
  3. drill — a practice
  4. net — after costs
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bass — low music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. net — for catching
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. capital — a city
  13. drill — the tool
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — army training
  16. ground — a position
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bore — to tire
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. ground — the earth

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