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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. race — a contest
  4. hand — help
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. march — the month
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. suit — in cards
  14. hand — in cards
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — to fit
  20. key — for a lock
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. race — humankind

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