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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: roll · ground · mine · bay · drill · fork · date · arm

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. drill — army training
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. roll — a list
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. date — the fruit
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. drill — a practice
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. ground — a position
  16. mine — for digging
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. roll — a cake
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. drill — the tool
  24. ground — the earth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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