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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 116 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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. can — a tin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. game — wild animals
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. drill — a practice
  9. game — a match
  10. swing — music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. saw — the tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. swing — in golf
  17. fork — in a road
  18. bear — the animal
  19. can — a tin
  20. shower — rain
  21. swing — to play on
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bear — the animal
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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