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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. spring — a coil
  3. squash — to crush
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. race — humankind
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. race — a contest
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spring — of water
  19. sharp — clever
  20. prune — to trim
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. prune — the fruit

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