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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 120 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 · stem · temple · wound · deal · foot · drill · march

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. march — the month
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stem — to come from
  6. deal — to handle
  7. wound — an injury
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. drill — a practice
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. fork — in a road
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. march — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fork — to eat with

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