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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 120 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: drill · press · kid · last · wake · club · stock · fork

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. drill — the tool
  3. last — finally
  4. club — for dancing
  5. press — to push
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kid — child
  8. press — a publisher
  9. club — a group
  10. last — final
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. drill — army training
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. club — for golf
  16. stock — goods
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stock — shares
  19. last — to go on
  20. kid — to tease
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wake — a trail
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. press — newspapers

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