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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fork · pop · last · track · roll · fine · land · drill

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pop — music
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. fine — all right
  7. last — finally
  8. land — ground
  9. track — a song
  10. pop — to visit
  11. drill — army training
  12. fork — in a road
  13. track — to keep track
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. track — a path
  19. fine — high quality
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fine — a penalty

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