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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.

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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 · drill · spell · pound · present · straw · file · pitch

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pound — a weight
  4. spell — a short time
  5. file — a document
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. drill — a practice
  8. present — there
  9. drill — army training
  10. fork — in a road
  11. present — the time now
  12. spell — magic
  13. file — a tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spell — letters
  21. drill — the tool
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. present — a gift

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