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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: drill · roll · cell · wind · bank · race · fork · rest

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bank — for money
  3. race — the arms race
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wind — moving air
  6. roll — a list
  7. cell — a phone
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. drill — army training
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rest — what's left
  13. roll — a cake
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rest — what's left
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. race — a contest
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rest — a break
  22. fork — in a road
  23. race — humankind
  24. wind — moving air

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