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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. band — a ring
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stand — to bear
  9. band — a music group
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. face — part of the head
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. drill — a practice
  14. scale — in music
  15. face — to confront
  16. game — wild animals
  17. drill — army training
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. face — to point toward
  24. game — a match

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