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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. race — humankind
  3. chest — a box
  4. fork — in a road
  5. ball — a dance
  6. drill — a practice
  7. drill — army training
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bark — to shout
  14. drill — the tool
  15. ground — crushed
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mate — a friend
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. ground — a position
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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