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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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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: fall · key · trunk · pitcher · bark · capital · fork · drill

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. drill — army training
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. key — the most important part
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — a practice
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. key — for a lock
  11. drill — the tool
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. capital — money
  16. key — in music
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fall — the season
  24. bark — of a tree

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