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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: deal · fork · wind · club · hand · wake · sharp · drill

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. club — for golf
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. drill — a practice
  11. club — a group
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. sharp — clever
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — army training
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hand — help
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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