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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. object — an aim
  10. capital — a city
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. deal — to handle
  13. object — to protest
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fork — in a road
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wake — a trail
  18. capital — money
  19. object — a thing
  20. drill — the tool
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fork — to eat with

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