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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 116 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 · present · pop · drill · wind · shower · band · row

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. present — there
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. band — a ring
  8. shower — rain
  9. pop — to visit
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. row — a line
  12. fork — in a road
  13. drill — army training
  14. band — a music group
  15. row — to paddle
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — the time now
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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