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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. band — a music group
  7. fork — in a road
  8. tear — to rip
  9. net — after costs
  10. craft — boats
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — army training
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. net — in sport
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. craft — a skill
  18. drill — a practice
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. net — for catching
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. fan — a supporter

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