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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: drill · rock · straw · kick · stock · fork · bear · hand

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stock — goods
  5. kick — in football
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. drill — a practice
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fork — in a road
  17. hand — help
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bear — the animal
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bear — the animal
  24. hand — part of the body

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