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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bat — the animal
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fork — in a road
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. race — a contest
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. can — a tin
  16. ground — the earth
  17. race — humankind
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bat — in an idiom

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