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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. saw — the tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. pitch — completely
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. mate — to breed
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rash — hasty
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. file — a document
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mate — a partner
  20. file — a tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. race — a contest
  23. mate — a friend
  24. rash — a series

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