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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 · drill · kid · wind · key · craft · date · rest

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. key — for a lock
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. kid — child
  10. rest — a break
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. drill — the tool
  16. date — the fruit
  17. key — in music
  18. craft — boats
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fork — in a road
  21. drill — army training
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. craft — a skill
  24. key — the most important part

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