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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: kid · track · mark · drill · fork · firm · saw · mine

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. track — a path
  6. firm — a company
  7. mine — for digging
  8. drill — a practice
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. mark — a grade
  11. firm — steady
  12. kid — to tease
  13. firm — decided
  14. track — to keep track
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. kid — child
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. saw — the tool
  22. track — a song
  23. drill — army training
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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