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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mate — a partner
  4. race — the arms race
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. file — a tool
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. file — a line of people
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chair — a leader
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. race — a contest
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mate — to breed
  17. file — a document
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. shower — to wash
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. shower — rain
  22. race — humankind
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mate — a friend

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