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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. land — a country
  8. land — to come down
  9. drill — army training
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. race — the arms race
  14. shower — rain
  15. fork — in a road
  16. drill — a practice
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. land — ground
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. snap — to click
  24. fork — a garden tool

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