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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. drill — army training
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. drill — a practice
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bear — the animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. fork — in a road
  18. band — a ring
  19. game — a match
  20. band — a music group
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. snap — to click
  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