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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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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: mine · drill · shower · stick · stand · press · fork · wake

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. press — to push
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. press — newspapers
  13. mine — for digging
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. drill — the tool
  20. press — a publisher
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. drill — army training

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