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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. march — the month
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. squash — to crush
  8. race — a contest
  9. fall — the season
  10. wound — an injury
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — the arms race
  14. march — music
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — a coil
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spring — the season
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. race — humankind
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. march — the month
  24. calf — of the leg

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