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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. game — wild animals
  3. race — the arms race
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spring — of water
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. race — humankind
  13. spring — the season
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. game — a match
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — boats
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. hand — help
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — a coil

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