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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pop — soda
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. mug — a face
  7. march — the month
  8. deal — to handle
  9. march — music
  10. hand — help
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. march — the month
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. mug — a cup
  20. race — a contest
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pop — music
  24. mug — to rob

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