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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: cap · sharp · drill · row · fork · kid · saw · present

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. kid — child
  4. cap — a lid
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cap — a hat
  9. present — the time now
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cap — of ice
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. row — to paddle
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. sharp — clever
  19. present — a gift
  20. kid — to tease
  21. present — there
  22. drill — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. row — a line

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