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

Word bank: fork · straw · wound · drill · deal · squash · track · bowl

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. deal — a big deal
  2. squash — the sport
  3. track — to keep track
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. drill — army training
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. drill — a practice
  14. track — a song
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. track — a path
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. deal — to handle
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wound — an injury
  24. drill — the tool

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