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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. drill — army training
  3. squash — to crush
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. squash — the sport
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. branch — a division
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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