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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. scale — in music
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. race — humankind
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. fork — in a road
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. deal — to handle
  10. race — the arms race
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. sharp — clever
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. march — the month
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — in music
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. race — a contest
  22. snap — to click
  23. scale — size or range
  24. key — the most important part

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