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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: fork · kid · roll · lean · march · nail · club · drill

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. march — the month
  4. drill — a practice
  5. lean — thin
  6. drill — army training
  7. club — a group
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lean — to bend
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. roll — a list
  14. fork — in a road
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. club — for dancing
  17. march — the month
  18. club — for golf
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. kid — child
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. march — music

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