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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. scale — in music
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. race — the arms race
  8. present — a gift
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. race — humankind
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. spell — letters
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. pound — a weight
  18. scale — size or range
  19. race — a contest
  20. spell — magic
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. last — final
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. present — the time now

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