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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — the season
  7. race — humankind
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spring — of water
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. race — a contest
  18. chair — a leader
  19. race — the arms race
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wound — an injury

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