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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: march · drill · cold · fan · craft · stem · coach · fork

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. drill — army training
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. march — music
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fork — in a road
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. march — the month
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — to come from
  20. march — the month
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fan — to cool the air

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