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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: fork · fall · fan · file · snap · drill · straw · saw

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. file — a tool
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. drill — the tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. file — a document
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. drill — a practice
  17. saw — the tool
  18. snap — to click
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. straw — dry grass

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