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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. drill — army training
  4. fork — in a road
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. race — humankind
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. game — a match
  11. row — to paddle
  12. race — the arms race
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. row — a line
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. game — wild animals
  21. race — a contest
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cold — not warm

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