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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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spell — a short time
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. chip — for betting
  8. race — humankind
  9. bound — tied together
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bound — obliged
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. ground — crushed
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. race — a contest
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — a position
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bound — certain
  22. last — finally
  23. chip — to eat
  24. fork — in a road

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