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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.

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: fork · squash · arm · file · drill · spell · stock · mine

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. stock — goods
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mine — for digging
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. drill — the tool
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. squash — the sport
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stock — shares
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a document
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spell — letters
  24. file — a line of people

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