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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. land — a country
  5. race — the arms race
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. land — ground
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. board — a committee
  11. fork — in a road
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. board — to get on
  14. race — a contest
  15. land — to come down
  16. spell — magic
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. spell — letters
  21. pitch — completely
  22. spell — a short time
  23. race — humankind
  24. board — a flat piece

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