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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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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: last · wound · club · fork · band · kick · march · file

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. file — a line of people
  4. last — to go on
  5. march — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. club — a group
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. club — for golf
  15. fork — in a road
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. file — a tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — final
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. last — finally
  22. file — a document
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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