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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. drill — army training
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. fork — in a road
  5. drill — the tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. hand — help
  9. mine — for digging
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. deal — to handle
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. staff — a stick
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — the underground
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. staff — employees
  23. chair — a leader
  24. fork — a garden tool

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