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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: fine · drill · game · fork · wound · key · cell · present

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. present — there
  3. game — a match
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wound — an injury
  6. key — for a lock
  7. fine — all right
  8. key — the most important part
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. cell — in biology
  12. game — wild animals
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wound — an injury
  15. present — a gift
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. fork — in a road
  23. key — in music
  24. present — the time now

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