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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: march · fork · pound · tear · net · nail · straw · fan

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. net — for catching
  3. pound — a weight
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. net — in sport
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fork — in a road
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. net — after costs
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. march — the month
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. march — music
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pound — for dogs

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