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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: pound · drill · season · fork · degree · last · hand · tube

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fork — in a road
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. drill — a practice
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. degree — from a university
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. hand — in cards
  10. season — of the year
  11. tube — a container
  12. drill — army training
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. drill — the tool
  19. degree — an amount
  20. hand — help
  21. pound — a weight
  22. tube — the underground
  23. degree — temperature
  24. last — to go on

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