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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fork — in a road
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. pound — a weight
  6. net — in sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rule — government
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. board — a committee
  18. board — to get on
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — a law
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. drill — army training
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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