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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. march — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. drill — the tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. drill — army training
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. plane — a tool
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. hand — help
  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