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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. scale — size or range
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wake — a trail
  16. drill — the tool
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. drill — army training
  20. bound — certain
  21. fork — in a road
  22. clip — for paper
  23. squash — to crush
  24. mine — belonging to me

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