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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rash — a series
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. can — a tin
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rash — hasty
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. can — a tin
  18. lean — to bend
  19. drill — a practice
  20. file — a tool
  21. lean — thin
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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