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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cap — a hat
  5. race — humankind
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. dip — to sink
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. chair — a leader
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fork — in a road
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cap — of ice
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. race — a contest
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cap — a lid
  24. pitcher — a jug

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