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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: drill · march · fork · lie · hide · bat · bowl · chest

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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. march — the month
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fork — in a road
  4. drill — a practice
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. march — music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chest — a box
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. drill — army training
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. march — the month
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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