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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. court — for sport
  6. track — to keep track
  7. shower — rain
  8. fork — in a road
  9. track — a path
  10. court — of a king
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. press — to push
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. press — newspapers
  17. track — a song
  18. game — wild animals
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. press — a publisher
  22. court — of law
  23. game — a match
  24. race — a contest

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