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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bulb — for light
  5. object — an aim
  6. march — the month
  7. saw — the tool
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fork — in a road
  10. object — to protest
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bulb — for light
  13. shower — to wash
  14. race — a contest
  15. march — music
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. race — humankind
  18. march — the month
  19. object — a thing
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. kick — in football
  22. shower — rain
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bulb — of a plant

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