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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 120 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. race — a contest
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. plane — a tool
  6. can — a tin
  7. race — humankind
  8. can — to be able to
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fork — in a road
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. snap — to click
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. race — the arms race
  21. can — a tin
  22. bat — the animal
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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