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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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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: wind · squash · drill · fork · rash · date · snap · fan

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. rash — hasty
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. squash — the sport
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. rash — a series
  17. wind — moving air
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. squash — to crush
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. snap — to click

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