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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wound — an injury
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. race — a contest
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fork — in a road
  9. bulb — for light
  10. drill — army training
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. race — humankind
  13. wound — an injury
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. race — the arms race
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bulb — for light
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. clip — a video
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. drill — a practice
  24. coach — a trainer

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