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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: pound · cabinet · drill · bound · bat · fork · mate · tear

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bat — the animal
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bound — tied together
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bound — certain
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. mate — a friend
  14. drill — army training
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bound — obliged
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden 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