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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: firm · mine · roll · last · march · fork · date · hand

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. march — the month
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hand — in cards
  8. last — to go on
  9. firm — decided
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. last — final
  12. march — the month
  13. roll — a list
  14. hand — help
  15. firm — steady
  16. roll — a cake
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. firm — a company
  20. mine — for digging
  21. last — finally
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. march — music

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