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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · shower · fork · ruler · row · season · drill · bat

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. current — electric
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bat — the animal
  5. drill — the tool
  6. row — a line
  7. season — in sport
  8. drill — a practice
  9. current — happening now
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fork — in a road
  15. drill — army training
  16. season — of the year
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. current — of water
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. row — to paddle

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