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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: roll · plane · fork · kid · straw · bear · band · race

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. plane — a tool
  5. bear — the animal
  6. band — a ring
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — a list
  9. band — a music group
  10. bear — the animal
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. kid — child
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. fork — in a road
  15. kid — to tease
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. race — a contest
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. race — humankind
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. race — the arms race
  24. fork — a garden tool

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