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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: stick · wound · mate · fork · march · tube · kick · drill

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kick — in football
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. mate — a friend
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. march — the month
  11. drill — the tool
  12. march — the month
  13. fork — in a road
  14. tube — a container
  15. march — music
  16. tube — the underground
  17. mate — a partner
  18. drill — army training
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. drill — a practice
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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