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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 124 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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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 — a practice
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. present — a gift
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. hand — help
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rash — hasty
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rash — a series
  13. season — of the year
  14. fork — in a road
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — in sport
  17. present — the time now
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. present — there
  22. saw — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  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