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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. staff — employees
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. race — a contest
  16. squash — the sport
  17. race — humankind
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. tear — to rip

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