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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 116 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wake — a trail
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. firm — steady
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rash — hasty
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. firm — decided
  12. band — a music group
  13. fork — in a road
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rash — a series
  16. firm — a company
  17. craft — a skill
  18. drill — army training
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. band — a ring
  22. craft — boats
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. band — a rubber band

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