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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. race — humankind
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fall — the season
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bank — for money
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. bank — for money
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bank — of a river
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. last — to go on
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. fall — to drop

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