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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · drill · kid · wind · key · craft

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. key — the most important part
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — to tease
  7. craft — a skill
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. craft — boats
  11. kid — child
  12. wind — moving air
  13. key — for a lock
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — in music
  18. wind — to turn a key

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