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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 124 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. race — humankind
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — the arms race
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. last — finally
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. degree — temperature
  16. fork — in a road
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. pit — a hole
  22. last — final
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. straw — dry grass

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