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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chest — a box
  3. wound — an injury
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to click
  11. fork — in a road
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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