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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bark — to shout
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — the season
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stock — goods
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stock — shares
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  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