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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fine — all right
  3. race — a contest
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — in music
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. fine — high quality
  16. race — humankind
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fork — in a road
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. key — the most important part
  21. wake — a trail
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. race — the arms race

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