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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. race — humankind
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. fork — in a road
  8. mine — for digging
  9. swing — music
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rash — hasty
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. rash — a series
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. race — a contest
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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