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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. drill — the tool
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fork — in a road
  13. ground — a position
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — army training
  16. kick — in football
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. march — the month
  22. chair — a leader
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — the earth

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