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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. race — humankind
  3. fork — in a road
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cue — for pool
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — for sport
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. race — a contest
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. field — farmland
  18. cue — a signal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — a trail
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cue — a hint
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. field — a subject

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