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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — in sport
  6. lie — to recline
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. spell — letters
  9. degree — from a university
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spell — magic
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. race — the arms race
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. season — of the year
  21. degree — an amount
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. race — humankind
  24. spell — a short time

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