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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cold — an illness
  3. race — a contest
  4. plane — a tool
  5. race — humankind
  6. file — a tool
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — in cards
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. suit — clothes
  14. cold — not warm
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. suit — in cards
  17. file — a line of people
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. file — a document
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. suit — to fit
  24. straw — a straw man

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