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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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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: cold · bark · arm · drill · last · fork · season · capital

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. fork — in a road
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. last — to go on
  7. drill — the tool
  8. last — final
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cold — not warm
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. season — of the year
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. season — in sport
  21. capital — money
  22. drill — army training
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. last — finally

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