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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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Word bank
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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 · fall · wound · leaves · club · season · drill · last

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. season — of the year
  4. last — to go on
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — final
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fall — the season
  10. fork — in a road
  11. club — for golf
  12. drill — army training
  13. club — a group
  14. fall — to drop
  15. season — in sport
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. club — for dancing
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. fall — to drop
  20. drill — a practice
  21. last — finally
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wound — an injury

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