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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. race — humankind
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. deal — to handle
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fork — in a road
  12. mine — for digging
  13. race — a contest
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. race — the arms race
  16. lean — to bend
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. key — for a lock
  20. perch — the fish
  21. key — in music
  22. lean — thin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. perch — for a bird

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