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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.

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: fan · bass · drill · kick · present · fork · hide · game

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. present — there
  3. kick — in football
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bass — the fish
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fork — in a road
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bass — low music
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. game — a match
  16. drill — a practice
  17. game — wild animals
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. present — a gift
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. present — the time now
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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