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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 116 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: fork · drill · kick · rest · band · pitcher · ruler · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. rest — what's left
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. kick — in football
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. band — a music group
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a ring
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. rest — a break
  15. snap — to click
  16. drill — a practice
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. rest — what's left
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fork — in a road
  24. drill — army training

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